


Never Forgive

by Unknown_diva



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Bucky Barnes Has Issues, Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Civil War Team Iron Man, Crack Treated Seriously, Hurt Tony, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark Friendship, James "Rhodey" Rhodes is a Good Bro, Not A Fix-It, Not Wanda Friendly, Paralysis, Poor Tony Stark, Protective James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Protective Vision (Marvel), not steve rodgers friendly, not the happiest ending
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:28:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 31,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26878963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unknown_diva/pseuds/Unknown_diva
Summary: What if Tony crashed instead of Rhodey during Civil War?*Update: New chapters being added (1/23/21)*
Comments: 198
Kudos: 491





	1. He is Fine

**Author's Note:**

> Whump & Fluff- my two favorite things. Enjoy!

Rhodey will never forget the sound of Tony’s suit crashing into the Earth. Everything seemed to slow down and the world grew silent- except for the deep ‘boom’ that he was sure ended his best friend’s life. His heart seemed to restart at hearing Jarvis report signs of life after he wrenched the helmet off of his friend’s face. 

Rhodey barely remembered shooting Sam, but just hearing his voice made a new type of anger course through him. 

So, staring at the team six months later on the compound’s landing pad, he just knew that he would never EVER forgive them. 

They weren’t there when his friend crashed to the ground, almost breaking every bone in his body. They weren’t there when his friend was stuck in a coma and wouldn’t wake up for weeks. They weren’t there when he had to break the news to him when he woke- that he would never walk again. And they certainly weren’t there every day after that- watching as he struggled to learn to live again, to move in constant pain. 

He got the email with the details of the pardon in the middle of Tony’s physical therapy. He was watching the nurse bend Tony’s unresponsive legs over and over, heart breaking every time Tony winced at the pain lacing through his back from the surgery. The email, with a large ‘CONFIDENTIAL’ on the subject line, was from Secretary Ross. After a nod to Tony and the nurse, he stepped outside the hospital room to read it in private. It was a good decision, because he almost smashed his phone in anger. He immediately called Ross, ranting in anger at the UN’s decision. After 30 minutes of the two arguing back and forth he finally got it through his head that the decision was final, and they would be arriving at the compound in two weeks. 

Breaking the news to Tony was easier than he thought, but he should have known that since the billionaire thought the whole situation was somehow his fault. This was an opportunity to make reparations for him. He couldn’t hide the anger when he could see on his friend’s face that a part of him was happy he would get his friends back, his family back. He hoped Tony wouldn’t be disappointed, but deep down he knew that was inevitable. 

When the team arrived, there was only Vision and Rhodey to greet them. Tony was being released from the hospital that afternoon, despite his begging to be at the compound when the team arrived. 

As they walked toward the pair, their scowls became visible. Rhodey and Vision had talked about being civil to the team, at least for Tony’s sake, but they both couldn’t help a frown replacing their fake grins. 

“Where’s Tony?” Steve said as soon as he got close enough. 

“Mr.Stark is not here, though he sends his welcomes. Rhodey and I will get you settled in though,” Vision said in his British accent. 

“Wow, playboy couldn’t even show up,” Clint snorted, before being shoved slightly by Sam. 

Rhodey swallowed down his retort and turned to walk inside. “Your rooms are still the same, but you no longer have access to the upper floors- only your personal floors and the common room.”

“That’s not fair, we need to have complete access if we are going to be a team. How are we going to train?” Steve frowned. 

“You will have access to the gym, pool, and other amenities which are located on the lower floors, but you will not have access to our personal quarters in the upper floors- that being my, Tony, and Rhodey’s rooms,” Vision responded calmly. 

Rhodey and Vision moved to the conference rooms before anyone else could respond. “Please take a seat,” he directed everyone. They all made sure to sit on one side of the table, a silent unity amongst the Rogues. Vision and Rhodey stood at the front.

“In front of you are packets filled with any questions you may have about the compound, the Avengers, or the Accords,” Vision said. 

“Read them, or don’t. I really don’t care. But follow the rules or you will be removed,” Rhodey said flatly before turning to leave. He felt bad about leaving Vision, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to last much longer staring at their faces. 

At the hospital, he entered to see Tony’s room empty except for a tray of unfinished breakfast and unmade bed. He checked his watch to realize it was almost the end of Tony’s physical therapy appointment. He decided to start packing Tony’s things while he waited. Just as he finished zipping up the suitcase, a nurse rolled Tony back into the room. 

“Hello Mr.Rhodes,” the nurse smiled.

“Hello John, how’s he doing today?” Rhodey asked.

“He is right here. And he is fine.” Tony grunted. He was struggling to transfer himself to the bed after an extremely intense physical therapy appointment. His back still ached constantly from the spine fusion surgery, and with his history of drinking they were reluctant to give him a lot of pain meds. 

Rhodey nodded at Tony’s answer. “Well are you ready to go?” 

“Very,” Tony sighed, having finally got himself sitting on the edge of the bed. 

“Okay, i’ll let you change and i’ll bring in the release forms when you are finished,” John smiled.

“Okay, thanks,” Rhodey said, pulling out a pair of sweats and Tony’s favorite AC/DC shirt. 

John pulled the shades down as he left the room to give them privacy. 

Rhodey went behind Tony and untied the gown so he could slip it off. Even though he was extremely close to Tony from his days at MIT, any last embarrassment he faced at helping clean Tony or get him undressed had faded over the last six months. 

While Tony was working on putting in his shirt, Rhodey knelt to help him put on the sweats. Even after only six months, there was a noticeable difference in Tony’s legs. They were extremely pale and skinny, their appearance almost reflected how dead they actually were. 

“Lift on 3,” Rhodey said, moving to Tony’s armpits. On three, he lifted Tony gently so that the man could slide the pants over his bottom. By the end, Tony’s breathing was slightly heavy and he was sweating. Taking pity on his friend, he lifted him from behind his shoulders and knees to place him back in the chair. When Tony was settled, he pulled on his socks and shoes. 

John knocked just as Rhodey had finished combing Tony’s hair. “Here’s the papers. Mr. Stark you can sign here, and Mr. Rhodes, as his Emergency contact, you can sign here.”

After all the forms were filled out and they were given all of Tony’s medicine, Rhodey grabbed the suitcase as Tony wheeled himself out. As they got settled in the car, Rhodey noticed Tony’s grow more and more anxious as they drove closer to the compound. 

“Hey,” Rhodey said as they pulled into the lot, getting Tony’s attention. The man was wringing his hands in his lap, and was breathing a bit harder than usual. “It’s going to be fine.”

Tony stared into Rhodey’s eyes for a few moments before swallowing and nodding.

Rhodey helped Tony out the car and Vision, sensing their arrival, came to meet them to open up the door. 

“Everyone’s in the common room,” Vision warned. 

The two friends looked down at the crippled man between them who was trembling slightly as they moved to the elevator. 

“Let's just get this over with,” Tony finally sighed. 

Jarvis takes his cue and lifts the elevator to the common room. The doors open and everyone on both sides freeze. 

Tony takes a deep breath before wheeling out into the room. Everyone is silent for a few moments.

“Well, I guess karma is a bitch,” Clint smirks, breaking the uncomfortable quiet. 

Tony frowns and his two companions step closer to his sides, he can imagine the glares they are giving the Rogues. 

“What he means is,” Steve says before Tony can respond, “We are glad to see you are okay, Tony.”

Tony ducks his head, though clenching the wheels under his hands tighter. 

“I think we should talk,” Steve starts. 

“No,” Rhodey interrupts. “We just got home from the hospital, we aren’t up for your version of ‘talking’, which I know will just be you all yelling at Tony, right now.”

Steve frowns before stepping closer. The simple move makes Tony’s heart race and his palms turn sweaty. The air in the room seems to leave as he fights for breath. Rhodey, sensing his best friend's distress, does not give Steve time to say anything before he takes the handles on Tony’s wheelchair and steers them out of the room and back into the elevator. Vision quickly follows. 

As soon as they reach their floor, Rhodey and Vision kneel in front of a now fully-panicking Tony. “Deep breaths, come on, you can do it,” Rhodey encourages. 

Tony hyperventilates as he squeezes his unresponsive legs tightly. Vision carefully removes the man’s hands knowing he is causing harm despite his lack of feeling. 

“Listen to me, Tones,” Rhodey pleads, seeing his friend is no further from passing out. “You’re okay now. It’s just me and Vis. You’re safe. We’ll protect you, I promise.” 

Rhodey and Tony stare into each other’s eyes for several moments and unconsciously Tony’s breathing slows down. 

“That’s it,” Rhodey smiles. “Now, I know you’re tired because i’m exhausted, so let's take a nap.”

Tony nods solemnly, and let's Vision steer him into his bedroom. 

After getting into the bed, Tony feels extremely childish, but he reaches out for Rhodey’s sleeve. “Can you stay? Just in case Steve tries to come up to talk?” Tony’s cheeks tinge pink in embarrassment. 

Rhodey knows that Tony knows that Jarvis would never let them upstairs, but me smiles and nods. “Well scoot over! I’m tired too.”

Tony smiles before sliding himself further onto the bed. 

“I am not partial to a nap, either,” Vision says. He then walks around the bed to lay on Tony’s other side. 

“We are so lucky this is a king sized bed,” Tony says after a moment of silence. 

They all laugh before pulling up the blanket when a chill goes over the room. 

“Now who’s going to turn off the lights?” Tony says. “Not it!”

After Vision’s quick response, Rhodey groans, getting up to flick the light switch.

“Thanks platypus,” Tony sings.

“Yeah whatever,” Rhodey huffs, flopping back onto the bed and closing his eyes. 

The other two follow suit, (though Vision meditates instead of sleeping), and a comfortable silence fills the room.


	2. King Kitty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All you need to know: Training, Spasms, and a Bucky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The beginning of this story starts off:
> 
> -Siberia never happens, so Tony does not know about his parents' death...yet  
> -Bucky went under cryo in Wakanda, where the team stayed for a few weeks.
> 
> Also, if you notice a character extremely OOC, there is most likely a reason that will become clear later. I genuinely do not hate a character enough to make them a dick for no apparent reason. I do like drama though...

“I still think it’s unnecessary,” Tony growls. 

“Well it’s Steve’s orders,” Natasha said.

“Of course it is. It’s totally fair for you guys to train while I sit and watch from the corner,” Tony deadpanned, wheeling into the training room. Natasha walks away to put on her workout attire.

There were over twenty blue mats placed onto the floor, already spotted with sweat as several team members warmed up. Steve was leading Wanda, Vision, Rhodey, and Sam in stretches. Tony rolled his eyes as he noticed Clint and Scott were on the floor having a push-up contest on the side.

“Okay guys, let’s start,” Steve says, standing up. 

Tony watches as they all huddle to discuss their training plan. While he was the smallest on the team, he did enjoy training with them, even if it meant he got his ass handed to him on many occasions. When they start getting into groups, Tony takes out his tablet and starts working on some designs for leg braces. 

A few minutes in, Rhodey interrupts his calculations and mutterings to Jarvis. 

“You can still workout Tony,” Rhodey frowns. 

“But I don’t want to,” Tony says, looking back down at his tablet. 

Rhodey takes it out of his hands. “Platypus,” Tony whines. 

“No, take these and start working,” he says, handing Tony weights. “I’ll check on you in a bit.”

Tony rolls his eyes but starts curling an 8lb so that Rhodey will walk away. He continues switching arms for a few minutes but he quickly gets tired. He checks to make sure Rhodey is distracted before reaching for his tablet again. 

Suddenly, Tony’s phone starts ringing. He wheels out of the room before accepting the call.

“Hello?” 

“Mr. Stark! I’m so glad to hear from you! I was so scared after I saw you fall and when the ambulance came they wouldn’t let me go with you and I tried to call but Aunt May said I should wait because you were probably still recovering but I wanted to-” Peter rants. 

“Slow down, kiddo,” Tony laughs, genuinely happy to hear his voice. “I’m doing okay, still trying to get used to this whole thing…”

“Well I could come and help you if you like! I heard the Rogues are back, which is so not cool after they beat us up at the airport. Are they being nice? I could come over and-”

“Yes, Peter, they are being nice,” Tony lied. “And yes, we can definitely find a day for you to come over and maybe help me in the lab-”

“Oh my gosh that would be so cool, Mr.Stark! I would love that! I’ll ask Aunt May when she gets home from work but i’m sure she’ll let me come. This is so awesome! I thought you would be mad at me because we couldn’t capture the Rogues but I thought we were doing okay until that dude turned huge and-”

“I’m not mad at you Pete, I'm very glad you were able to help, you did great. None of us anticipated they would get so violent so it was not your fault, okay? I’ve got to go now, but let me know what May says and I’ll send Happy to come pick you up,” Tony says. 

“Yes, okay, thanks Mr.Stark!”

“No problem Pete, see you soon,” Tony smiles fondly. 

As soon as he ends the call, the team strides out of the training room. Most nod at him, besides Clint of course, but Rhodey and Vision approach him. 

“Want to order a pizza?” Rhodey asks. 

Tony nods. “Viz?” 

“I am not impartial to a pizza,” he answers. 

“Friday, the usual please,” Tony calls, as they all move to their common floor. 

Halfway through their third box, and second Star Wars movie, an alert comes up on the TV to make their way to the conference room. 

Rhodey and Tony roll their eyes when Vision, without a word, sinks through the couch and down nine floors. Tony, who is still trying to finish his pizza slice, is picked up by Rhodey and is transferred to his chair. “Hey!” he shouts, mouth full.

“We’re going to be late,” Rhodey says, taking the handles as Tony reaches for a napkin. 

“That’s the point!” Tony huffs. 

A few minutes later they make it to the conference room to see the whole team sitting at the table. Steve, Sam, Scott, Wanda, and Natasha all squeeze to one side of the table. It is then Tony notices T’challa standing at the front. “Dr. Stark, Colonel Rhodes,” He welcomes in his heavy accent. 

“King Kitty,” Tony smiles, “To what do we owe the visit?” 

T’Challa rolls his eyes at the nickname but slides Tony a packet. “We believe it is time for James Barnes to return to the United States.”

Steve’s smile almost splits his face. 

Tony shudders at the words. “Why?” He can see Steve quickly glare at him. 

“We have been able to successfully remove the Winter Soldier programming from his system and believe he is healed enough to return to his duties,” T’Challa says. “Our technicians have provided all the tests and results in your packet.”

Tony flips through a few pages. “And what does the UN think of this?”

“They have approved. Mr. Barnes would be a good addition to your team, and there is no reason to keep him in Wakanda if he is fully recovered,” The king responds. 

Everyone is silent for several moments. 

“I have duties to return to in Wakanda, but I will be awaiting your approval Dr.Stark,” T’Challa says, moving to leave. 

“We will keep in touch,” Tony says. 

When the door closes, everyone continues their silence before Steve speaks up. “I think he should come back.”

“Of course you think so,” Rhodey huffs. Tony pats his hand lightly.

“If he’s all recovered from that Winter Soldier stuff then he should get to come back, just like we did,” Sam reasons. 

Tony has a belief flash of Bucky shooting into his gauntlet that causes him to pale a bit. Rhodey notices and tries to get his attention. Tony shifts in his chair and looks across the table at the team. “And what if he’s not recovered? What if he gets here and goes wild again? What are we supposed to do? We couldn’t contain him before,” Tony says.

“He won’t,” Steve says firmly. 

“But how do you know that?” Natasha says, looking at Steve. 

“I’ve known him longer than all of you. Bucky is my friend, he can fight off the Winter Soldier,” Steve squares his shoulders, getting defensive. 

Rhodey catches Tony shifting again and tries to get his attention. “What’s wrong?” he whispers to his friend while the team argues.

Tony shakes his head. 

“Is it your back? You need pain medicine?” Rhodey asks, seeing Tony tense up. 

Tony shakes his head again and Rhodey frowns.

“This is Hydra we are talking about. How do we know the words were the only way to get him to switch? What if he has triggers we don’t know about?” Natasha says. 

Before Rhodey can say anything else, the billionaire cries out in pain. 

Tony’s legs suddenly clench up involuntarily and jerk up and down. Tony squeezes his thighs in pain, pushing his nails into his flesh. 

Rhodey jumps from his chair and kneels in front of Tony. Vision gets up and pulls Tony’s wheelchair away from the table. The rest of the team freeze and look at the scene with wide eyes. 

“It’s okay Tony, take a breath,” Rhodey encourages, trying to pry Tony’s hands from where he was gripping his legs. 

Tony continues to hold his breath as the muscle spasms travel through his lower body. His legs were rocking the wheelchair in their shaking. 

“Tones, listen to me. I know it hurts but you have to breathe,” Rhodey says louder. 

Tony squeezes his eyes shut as tears leak out the corners. 

The team watching can’t help the guilt that racks through them. Sam leaves his seat and walks over to the trio. 

“Can I help?” He asks Rhodey.

Rhodey glares fiercely, but after hearing Tony cry out again in pain, he decides to move over.

Sam kneels down in front of Tony, trying to get the man’s attention. “Try to relax, okay? I’m going to touch your legs, but i’m going to need you to try to relax,” he says softly. 

Tony doesn’t respond besides a few hitching breaths.

Sam puts his hands onto Tony’s left leg and starts kneading the muscle, willing it to relax. He can feel the muscles twitching under his hands so he forcefully smooths them down. He keeps going until the leg has stopped its jerking and is completely limp before he moves over to the right leg and does the same. The right leg takes a bit more coaxing but eventually it too relaxes and stops its jerky movements. 

By the time Sam finishes, Tony is breathing heavy and trying to focus on Rhodey’s hand that rubs up and down his arm gently. He can feel Vision’s comforting presence behind him as well. Even though his legs now feel like jelly, he can still feel the pain of his muscles daring to start their jerking again. It was a horrible feeling. 

“Is that better?” Sam asks. 

Tony nods his head. “Thank you,” he rasps. 

“It’s no problem,” Sam smiles before standing up. 

Rhodey rustles Tony’s hair before nodding to Vision. Rhodey takes the chair handles and steers Tony back to the elevators, leaving the room still frozen in shock. 

The men are silent on their way to Tony’s room. Tony continues to rub his palms back and forth over his limp thighs until they get into the bedroom. Tony, completely drained, is forced to accept Rhodey’s help to transfer to the bed. 

“Do they still hurt?” Rhodey asks softly, swinging Tony’s legs onto the bed. 

Tony nods, pulling up the covers. 

Rhodey leaves to get his pills from the bathroom as well as a cup of water. When he returns, Tony leans up to swallow and take a sip before sinking back into the covers. 

Rhodey places the half-full cup onto the side table and sits on the edge of the bed. 

“I hate this,” Tony whispers into the silence. 

“Me too,” Rhodey sighs. He slides his fingers through Tony’s hair as Tony closes his eyes. He waits until Tony’s breathing turns heavy to go back to the conference room. 

“I thought he was paralyzed?” Clint asks after a long moment of silence. 

“He is, but there are different types of paralysis. He might not be able to move his legs, but depending on where he broke his spine, he might be able to feel them,” Sam corrects. 

“He can, well sometimes,” Rhodey answers, walking back into the room. “They thought it was a complete spinal injury at first, but after the swelling went down it turns out it is actually incomplete. So he can’t really move them, but sometimes he can feel them.”

“What just happened then, because his legs were moving on their own,” Scott asks. 

“He was having a muscle spasm. The muscles were clamping up on their own, he couldn’t control it,” Rhodey says, sitting down at the table. 

“Why does it happen? And how often does that happen?” Scott asked, intrigued. 

“There’s not really a trigger for them- It could be that he was sitting too long. And they happen once or twice a day, not always that bad though.”

“Shit, I didn’t know he was in pain like that,” Scott says softly. 

“All the time, actually. He had surgery to help fix his spine but now he has chronic pain in his back, he has physical therapy three times a day, and with the muscle spasms- he’s always in pain,” Rhodey sighs. 

Clint looks down guiltily. He couldn’t believe he made that comment to Tony a few days ago. He was extremely angry at the Accord situation in addition to Laura refusing to talk to him, but he shouldn’t have taken it out on Tony. 

“I’m not saying this to make you feel guilty. But you have to understand how fucked up it is that we came to bring you in peacefully, yet Tony has to suffer for your violence. My best friend is in pain every single minute of every day because you were trying to what? Help Bucky? Does no one else matter?” Rhodey glares. 

“He’s my friend,” Steve says softly. 

“So was Tony,” Rhodey glares. He gets up to leave. 

“It’s so much more than that, Rhodes,” Steve calls.

“Yeah? Well go tell that to my crippled friend.”

As Rhodey makes it to the elevator, Sam runs in just as the door closes. 

“What do you want?” Rhodey growls, still on edge. 

“I wanted to ask if I could help,” Sam says. 

“With what? We are doing just fine,” Rhodey says, still glaring at the elevator doors. 

“With Tony’s physical therapy. I am trained in rehabilitation and have helped many soldiers who have obtained similar injuries,” Sam says. 

Rhodey is quiet. 

“Please, Rhodes. I feel like shit. If I hadn’t ducked that beam, Tony wouldn’t have gotten hit,” Sam says, his voice full of grief. 

“You don’t think I know that?” Rhodey says, finally looking at him. “You don’t think Vision knows that? You don’t think Tony knows that?”

“I regret it every day, Rhodes. I do. We all did horrible things that day and afterward, but I really want to help in any way I can. I know you guys came peacefully, I saw you weren’t trying to hurt us, and yet I still tried to hurt you. I will always regret that,” Sam says softly.

Rhodey turns back to the elevator doors. “Stretches when he wakes up, exercises at noon, and a leg massage before bed. On Tuesdays it's water therapy at the pool downstairs, and Thursdays are walking days- he hates Thursdays very much. Friday will call you upstairs when it's time and you may not enter without her permission,” Rhodey says flatly. 

Sam lights up. “Thank you very much for this opportunity, I won’t let you down.”

Rhodey nods and exits the elevator on his, Tony, and Vision’s floor. Immediately he freezes in the bedroom door frame when he notices the sheets rustled and Tony gone. The bathroom is empty and so is the walk-in closet. 

“Friday, where’s Tony?” He asks, heart racing. 

“Sir is in his workshop,” she answers. 

Rhodey’s face contorts in anger. He storms back to the elevator and takes it down to the workshop. “Tony!” He shouts as soon as the doors open. 

Tony, who was at his desk, jumps in surprise, dropping a piece of metal onto the floor. “Honeybear, good to see you,” he says nervously. 

“Tony. You know you’re not allowed to be in the workshop. Not until you’re cleared by your doctor,” Rhodey growls. 

“But Rhodes-” Tony whines. 

“No, put it down and go upstairs.”

“But I want to build braces so I can walk!” Tony protests. 

“I want you to walk again too, Tones,” Rhodey sighs. “But you are going to hurt yourself further if you keep pushing it. You got about a month to go before you can build stuff again, don’t ruin it.” Rhodey pushes Tony into the elevator. “Plus, I heard you are doing great with your physical therapy.”

Tony rolls his eyes. “I hate it.”

“Well it's helping you,” Rhodey says firmly. “Sam is going to be taking over your physical therapy now.”

“What!” Tony shouts, looking up at Rhodey. “Why?”

“He feels bad and wants to help. He’s a certified physical therapist, too.”

Tony frowns, thinking. 

“Do you blame him?” Rhodey asks. 

Tony pauses. “No, I don’t blame him just like I don’t blame Vision. I shouldn’t have-”

“It’s not your fault,” Rhodey interrupts firmly. 

Tony looks at his lap. When the elevator doors open, he rolls out quickly and goes back to his bedroom. 

Downstairs, the team contacts T’Challa to send an un-frozen Bucky to the compound.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the people thinking 'why doesn't Tony just fix himself': Well that is definitely possible, but the whole purpose of this story is to see how Tony being incapacitated affects the events of Civil War, therefore it wouldn't make sense for me to have him fix himself immediately after he is injured. But yes, the Tony Stark we all know would probably have injected himself with extremis like the badass he is. 
> 
> Now I hope you enjoyed, and if you didn't, well strap in because much angst is coming up since our fav soldier is coming back and I think he has something he needs to tell our fav billionaire...
> 
> Let me know what you thought of this chapter!


	3. Numb

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Physical therapy, angry archers, and hospitalizations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh I love your passionate comments it literally gives me fuel to write more, so here’s a longer angsts chapter as my thanks!

“Please no,” Tony pleads, his wheelchair sitting in front of two metal bars. 

Sam, who stands in front of him, sighs. “Come on Tony, you did so good last week.”

“I’m tired, I stayed up all night working and I don’t want to do it,” Tony pouts, he could feel Rhodey roll his eyes at him. In truth, he just really hates the embarrassment of it all. Every time he fails to take a step he can feel his father laughing at him (from down below of course). He still had a few more weeks to go until he could be in the lab, so he was spending that time making blueprints for braces to help him walk. Then he could return back to being Iron Man and the world would be restored, simple as that. 

“This is the only way you’re going to get back to normal. Just ten steps and then you can take the day off, how’s that?” Sam bargains. 

Tony pats his chin in thought. No weights and leg machine today? That was a pretty good deal. “Fine,” Tony huffs.

Sam smiles and places the orthotic supports onto Tony’s legs. Rhodey walks over to stand behind Tony. 

“Okay, on three,” Sam says to the pair. He grabs the waistband that is around Tony’s midsection and Rhodey holds onto the wheelchair. 

On three, Sam lifts while Tony pulls himself to the metal bars. Rhodey pulls the wheelchair from under him. Immediately as he stands, his legs shake frantically, threatening to collapse. He feels Sam grip him tighter and Rhodey moves closer to him. Pain shoots up and down his spine, specifically his lower back. Even though he’s been exercising his arms, they too shake in the effort to hold himself up. 

“You got it Tones, just get yourself together and take a deep breath,” Rhodey encourages softly. 

The two men wait as Tony tries to get his bearings. After a few moments, he nods. 

“Okay, left leg,” Sam says. Tony focuses on trying to move his leg forward. He sends the command yet his leg continues to tremble in place. “You got it,” Sam says. Tony focuses harder, and with Sam’s help, he is able to shuffle his foot a few inches forward. After the small movement, Tony is breathing heavily and sweating. 

“Next one,” Sam says, barely giving him a break. Tony scowls, more at himself than anything, but tries again to shuffle his foot. This time, he does it quicker than the first leg and is able to move it a few inches farther. “There you go,” Sam smiles.

The next few steps go similarly, but by the tenth one, his body is physically racking him back and forth with his trembling. His sweat is literally dripping onto the floor and his clammy hands slip on the metal bars. “One more,” Sam pleads. Tony shakes his head, squinting as his back pain ignites. 

“Come on, Tones. I know you can do it,” Rhodey says. Tony lets out a whimper. He wishes they would just take pity on him and end it already. 

Sam taps his leg above the brace to get his attention. “Just one more, you can do it,” he says softly. 

Tony wants to cry. With everything he has, he uses his last bit of energy to push his leg forward. It moves no more than three pathetic inches, but Tony is satisfied. Immediately his body collapses like a puppet, but Sam catches him, lowering him into the wheelchair. Rhodey pushes a water bottle in front of his lips and he drinks it frantically. While he gulps down the water, Sam removes the braces and Rhodey uses a towel to dry him off. Sam makes sure to stretch his legs a bit to avoid cramps before letting him go. 

When Tony and Rhodey get into the elevator, Rhodey’s phone beeps. “The UN wants to do a video conference in five minutes,” he curses. “Are you good by yourself? They are only requesting me and Steve so I can get Vision to help you out if you need.”

“No, I'm good. I’m just going to grab a bite to eat and take a shower,” Tony says. 

“Okay, I’ll you in a bit then, hopefully this won’t be long,” Rhodey says, stopping the elevator. 

“Tell me everything,” Tony calls as Rhodey walks out. 

“Of course,” he hears as the door closes. 

Tony decides to go to the common floor since he vaguely remembers Natasha saying something about making sandwiches earlier. When the doors open, he notices Scott and Natasha on the couch watching the news. 

“Turkey, ham, or cheese, second shelf,” Natasha calls as he exits, not even glancing at him. 

“Thanks,” he smiles, rolling over to the fridge. There are several sandwiches in saran wrap stacked inside. He grabs two turkey for himself, then grabs two hams for Rhodey before placing them on his lap and closing the door. As he wheels past Scott and Natasha and to the elevator, he hears loud footsteps rushing from the hall. Before he can comprehend anything, someone is grabbing him by his neck and slamming him into the wall. 

“You did this!” Clint screams, spitting all over Tony’s face. 

Tony’s legs dangle under him and the sandwiches lay scattered by his overturned chair. “Did what?” Tony rasps. 

“Laura just sent me divorce papers and a restraining order!” Clint yells, slamming Tony against the wall again. 

Tony whimpers at the pain in his back and the squeezing of his neck. Clint’s grip gets tighter and tighter as he holds him up unwaveringly. Tony wishes he had worked on the leg machine today if only the extra muscle would make him heavier for Clint to hold up. 

“Clint, let him down,” Natasha says calmly. Tony notices her and Scott standing up behind the archer, approaching slowly. 

“No! I can’t see my kids anymore because of him,” Clint growls, looking deep into Tony’s eyes. 

Tony notices darkness at the corners of his vision but he tries to will it away. “I’m sorry,” Tony rasps. “I’m sorry.”

“No you’re not!” Clint slams him again. This time, he grows dizzy as his head collides with the wall with a loud ‘thump’. Natasha moves closer. 

“Clint, I’m serious. Put. Him. Down,” Natasha says louder. 

“What the fuck is going on here!” Rhodey yells, running over. He and Steve were in the middle of the UN conference when Friday alerted them to get to the common room immediately. 

“Stay out of it!” Clint screams. “This is between me and him!”

Tony, whose eyes were falling closed, felt a wave of fear he never experienced before. He knew the team was dangerous, but this was the first time he realized how dangerous they really were. Despite his arguments with Steve where he pushed the soldier’s buttons, he was genuinely scared of the super soldier, having seen what he could do. Thor, he remembered gaining a fear of him from when he was in a similar position to now during the Ultron fiasco. But as he stared into Clint’s angry eyes- one of the smaller members of the team- he came to the realization that everyone on this team has the potential to kill him, and they have little holding them back. Rhodey was his brother, Vision was his creation, but the others? They did not like him, in fact many of them hated him. Even in his crippled state, they had no qualms about hurting him- in fact they thought he deserved it. And now, he was scared. He knew Clint could and would snap his neck, and he knew the Rogues probably wouldn't care and that scared him. 

Rhodey barely spared a glance for the Rogues who stood staring and body slammed Clint from the side, wrenching his grip from Tony. Tony simultaneously crashed to the ground with his limbs tangled under him. He took huge breaths as he felt his lungs scream for air. 

While Tony was trying to wash away the fact he was seconds away from death, Rhodey was wrestling with Clint on the ground. They rolled back and forth, throwing punches and kicks before Vision finally tore them away from each other. The whole time, the Rogues watched in shock.

Sam, walking out of the elevator from where he was cleaning up the gym, took on the scene in shock before running to Tony’s side. He didn’t know what happened, but he could tell from the already-forming bruises on Tony’s neck, red face, and awkward position, something bad had happened. “What hurts?” Sam asked, hearing his low whimpers. 

“M’ back,” Tony rasped, still breathing deeply. 

Sam cursed under his breath. He grabbed Tony’s neck gently from where he leant awkwardly against the wall and slowly lowered him to the ground. Tony had his eyes shut and as the pressure on his neck faded slightly, the pain in his back became more known. His lower back was burning hot and sent twinges up and down his spine. Every movement caused the pain to start shooting up harder. He didn’t even notice Sam moving his legs flat. 

“Numb,” he breathed. 

“What?” Sam asked, on alert. 

“Legs are numb,” Tony said. 

Sam’s eyes widened and he reached for his phone to call an ambulance. After giving the details he hung up and moved closer to Tony’s side. “Tony, I’m just going to lift up your shirt. I just want to check that everythings okay,” Sam said softly. 

Tony nodded but stopped moving after he noticed his growing headache. 

Sam moved to his side, and as gently as possible moved up his shirt and turned him to the side slightly. He continued even as Tony’s whimpers grew louder. His eyes grew wide at the small bulge under the skin in the middle of Tony’s lower back. 

“Shit!” Rhodey said, looking over Sam’s shoulder. “One of the screws is out of place.” 

Sam jumped slightly, not realizing Rhodey had finished rolling around with Clint, but tried not to stare at the man’s bloody nose. As he went to roll Tony flat again, Tony cried out, tears leaking from the corner of his eyes. 

“It hurts,” Tony cried, trying to curl in on himself. 

“I know Tones, just stay still okay? It’s nothing bad. Just stay still,” Rhodey said softly. “Leave him on his side.”

Sam nodded and bent Tony’s legs to keep him steady. 

“I can’t feel my legs,” Tony said brokenly, the whole room freezing. 

Several of their eyes widened in shock. Vision’s face grew blank from across the room where he was restraining Clint. 

“Please Rhodey, it hurts,” Tony cried, squeezing his friend's hand. 

Rhodey moved so Tony’s head was on his lap, putting his fingers through his friends wet curls which were still damp from physical therapy earlier. “I know, I know. Deep breaths.” Tony squeezed Rhodey’s hands in tandem with the pain shooting up his back. 

It took several minutes for the ambulance to arrive and make it up to the floor. By the time they arrived, Tony was a mess of tears and sniffles as the pain kept getting worse as time ticked by. 

Rhodey watched with his heart in his throat as they placed the stiff neck brace on Tony’s neck and strapped him to the orange board, the scene so familiar to several months ago. This time though, Tony was awake and whimpering at every movement, which was so much worse. They put an oxygen mask over his face and an IV of morphine in his arm, so by the time they arrived at the hospital, Tony was quiet except for periodic groans. 

At the compound, everyone was quiet even after the ambulance was long gone. 

“You’re an asshole,” Sam spit out, breaking the silence. 

“Hey, language,” Steve spoke up. 

“Oh, now you can speak? I didn’t hear you say a word during that whole fiasco,” Sam glared. 

Sam looked over at Clint who was still huffing angrily in Vision’s hold. “Anything to say for yourself, dipshit?” 

“I hate him,” Clint growled under his breath, still loud enough for all of them to hear it in the silence of the room. 

Sam looked over at Steve in disbelief. “He just attacked and almost killed a team member and you have nothing to say to him?”

Steve, conflicted, looked up at Sam. “Tony did the same thing at the air-”

“Wow, you guys are idiots. I don’t know why I ever joined this team,” Sam huffed, walking quickly out the room. Scott, after a moment, followed him. 

“The UN will be hearing about this,” Vision said finally, before falling through the floor.  
\---------------------------------------------------------

“Can’t go back, can’t go back,” Tony muttered, sitting in the hospital bed. 

Rhodey, Vision, and Sam were spread around the room in uncomfortable chairs. It was the morning after Tony had been rushed into emergency surgery after one of his screws from his spinal surgery had moved out of place after Clint had attacked him. The doctor said the screw had been pressing into one of his nerves which was what caused the pain, but his spine was not 100% healed yet so they wanted to replace the screw instead of leaving it out. 

The surgery was long but there were no complications so Tony was now in post-op. He had a large back brace on that wrapped around his abdomen and Tony absolutely hated it. It was extremely uncomfortable and hard to sleep in. The doctor told him he has to wear it for a few weeks until his back heals after the latest surgery. 

The hospital was letting him be discharged early though, because Sam was able to take over his care. Tony was extremely grateful for this until he realized who he would be going back to. 

“Tones, what do you want to do then?” Rhodey sighed. His friend had been muttering it over and over since the nurse had told him he would be discharged today. “Do you want me to kick them out, because I totally will.”

Tony frowned but shook his head. He may have owned the building but it was the Avengers compound. Plus, the UN would be pissed. 

After Vision had told the UN about the incident, they had an emergency meeting where they discussed what would be done. The UN could not send Clint back to his home because of the restraining order from his wife, and had been about to send him to SHIELD before Steve called them up to testify. Steve told them how it was an accident and Clint was acting in his grief over losing communication with his children. He used his Captain America sway to plead to the UN how it would never happen again and he would keep an eye on Clint. In the end, they let Clint off with a warning, which had Rhodey seething. The UN just wanted to keep the Avengers together and not bring attention to the breaking team, but in doing so his best friend was now filled with anxiety in returning to his own home. 

Rhodey sank onto the edge of the bed. “This is a horrible situation Tony. I don’t know what to do.”

Sam looks up at the raw grief in Rhodey’s face. He can’t believe he was oblivious to the amount of pain he was causing Tony and his teammates while fighting at Steve’s side. It pained him to see the normally confident playboy so small and vulnerable.

Tony heard the brokenness of his best friend’s voice and quickly snapped out of the fear he was displaying for the world. He sucked it all in, just like his dad taught him. He was Iron Man for god’s sake. He took a deep breath. “We have to go back,” he forced the words out. They sounded weak to his own ears. “We have to be a team. As long as I stay out their way, it’ll all be fine.”

Tony knew that Rhodey could still feel the anxiety that was pouring off of him. The pair stared at each other for several quiet moments before Rhodey nodded.

“We will protect you,” Vision spoke up. 

Sam nodded as well. Steve was his friend, but it went against his own morals to sit with a team that did not know right from wrong. That could not see how much they hurt people. Or to see it, and continue to do it. He didn’t want to be that person anymore. 

Tony swallowed and wiped his face clear of any residue tear tracks just as the nurse walked in with the discharge papers. 

Sam and Rhodey helped him get dressed, this time it took longer with the stiff back brace. The doctor had also requested Tony wear the ankle-foot braces 24/7 after seeing that his leg muscles were deteriorating and beginning to deform a bit. Of course, he had them custom ordered in his favorite hot rod red and gold colors, so they would be arriving at the compound in two days. The pair helped him transfer to the chair as Vision finished signing the last of the papers.

Rhodey placed a blanket in his lap, knowing his legs get cold when they go outside, and threw a cute war-machine beanie on his head. Tony glared at his friend, but they both knew he liked it. 

Tony had regained feeling back in his weakened legs after the screw was fixed, but with it came the familiar stiffness which caused him to fidget as they waited for the car. He hated looking at his legs because they were no bigger than toothpicks and were soft due to their lack of muscles. He knew he would be pushing it in physical therapy in order to be able to walk as soon as possible and gain muscle back. He needed to if he was going to protect his friends. 

Tony was silent in thought as they made their way to the compound. Every time they got closer to the common room his heart would beat faster. Rhodey, who was making small talk with Sam, grabbed one of his hands when he noticed them fidgeting with anxiety. Vision noticed and grabbed the other. They continued their conversation as they waited for the elevator to stop and Tony took a deep breath knowing his friends were at his side. He finally felt calmer by the time he heard a ‘ding’ followed by the doors opening. Nothing though, not even his friends, could prepare him for what he saw on the other side.

A half-metal super soldier stood in the middle of the common room, and he did not look happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for all your amazing comments! Feel free to send me ideas- I had an outline of how the story was going to go but I’ve completely ripped it up because I’m loving the ideas you all give me! We are writing this together!
> 
> Let me know what you think of this chapter! Do you think Bucky & Tony will get along?


	4. Leave Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony lets out a lot of feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait, I hope the angst in this chapter makes up for it.

“I’m not your Bucky anymore!” The soldier growls. “My name is James. James Barnes.”

“I-I know that,” Steve whispers brokenly. 

“I don’t think you do,” James shouts. He takes one last huff before turning to the elevator doors. Immediately, he freezes and his eyes go wide when he notices a familiar face. Well the ghost of a familiar face. “Howard,” he chokes out, his eyes drawn to the man who sits trembling in a wheelchair. The face was so similar to his old friend and he had to dig his nails into his palm to keep him in reality. 

He hears Steve make a weird sound behind him but he ignores it. “I’m so sorry-” he starts, approaching the man. 

“Bucky, stop!” Steve yells, grabbing his arm, a frantic look on his face. 

James wrenches his arm away and spins back towards Steve furiously. He leans in close to Steve’s ear. “Don’t ever touch me,” he growls. He stares for a moment longer before storming off down the hall. 

Tony jumps when the door slams and they revel in the silence for a bit. Tony desperately wants to bust into the soldier’s room and force him to continue the conversation about his father but there are two reasons that would not be a great idea- he hates talking about his father, and staying on this floor any longer was going to force him into a panic attack. And Clint being in the room was not helping.

“Glad to see you are well, Tony,” Natasha said, breaking silence.

“I bet,” Rhodey answers sternly. His blood was boiling from seeing the soldier that he definitely didn’t remember inviting into their home and he was ready to beat someone up. He takes Tony’s wheelchair and directs him back into the elevator, barely noticing Vision and Sam following suit. 

When they reach their floor Rhodey flies out into the living room, immediately turning around to Sam. “Did you know?” He growls. 

“No, I swear I didn’t. They never told me they were bringing him here. The last time I heard anything about him was when T’Challa came and then I went upstairs to talk to you. I never went back to the conference room after. I swear!” Sam rushes out. 

Rhodey slowly lets out a breath and lets his tense face relax. 

“It’s-It’s okay sourpatch,” Tony says softly. 

“It’s not,” Rhodey says. 

Tony sighs. “Sam, can you help me change?” Tony says, wheeling himself quickly to the bedroom. 

Sam nods and quietly follows Tony as Rhodey throws himself on the couch. 

In the bedroom, Tony barely has time to park his wheelchair before he is completely enwrapped in his panic attack. 

Sam’s eyes widened when he realized the silent man was breaking down. Tony was trying to transfer but his limbs were trembling as he hyperventilated, so Sam ran over to help steady him. Instead of lifting him to the bed, Sam lowered Tony to the floor. 

Tony was squeezing his legs in tandem with his frantic breathing and was trembling lightly. Sam peeled Tony’s hands from where they were probably leaving marks on his legs and placed them into the soft carpet next to him. He was satisfied when Tony started gripping clumps of carpet instead. 

“Tony, Tony,” Sam kneeled in front of the man, “You have to breathe. Come on, in for five, out for five.” 

Sam panicked when Tony ignored him and ended up breathing even harder. Tears were leaking down his face and he started pulling at his hair. After a few seconds of feeling lost, Sam thought back to what he did when his younger brother had panic attacks. 

Slowly, Sam placed himself behind Tony until the man was pressed up against his chest. He removed Tony’s hands from his hair and crossed them in front of him. Sam hugged Tony close, restraining his arms and encouraging Tony to feel his deep breaths and copy him. 

Soon, Tony’s breathing was slightly better and his fierce shaking was a periodic tremble. 

“Are you okay?” Sam said softly. 

“Nothing’s okay,” Tony said brokenly, his tears picking up a bit. 

Sam shushed him and hugged him a bit tighter. He grinned slightly when he noticed Tony lean into the hug and close his eyes. 

Tony took a deep breath. “It’s just, Clint hates me, and Steve hates me, and their whole team hates me. And Charles’ mom hates me. And I don’t know how to make any of it right! The Accords were supposed to make things better but it just made it worse. They made me lose my team, and my family, and I can’t even fucking walk,” Tony cried brokenly. “This is all a bunch of shit!”

Sam paused, not knowing what to say. “Yes, it is a bunch of shit,” he sighed. “But we’re going to figure this all out, together. The team doesn’t hate you, they are just conflicted. And you didn’t lose your family- we are all under the same roof, right? There’s time to make amends.” 

“I spend my life making amends,” Tony whispers. “That’s all I ever do. Do things to make people not hate me anymore. Why am I always the one fixing things?”

“Because you’re the mechanic,” Sam smiles, unsure. 

“Well, I’m tired of it. I’m tired of fixing other peoples’ messes. How many times am I gonna get used before I am broken beyond repair?”

Sam looks down, unable to answer. 

“My legs already don’t fucking work,” Tony mumbles, trying to lift himself on the bed. 

Sam watches with sad eyes, before taking pity and helping him onto the bed. “It will get better Tony, I promise,” he says softly as the man closes his eyes. 

Tony rolls over to face the wall. 

\--------------------------------------------------------

“Come on, last two steps.”

Tony grunts as he drags his foot forward. He was almost at the very end of the metal bars, something he hasn’t been able to accomplish on his own. But today, Sam and Rhodey stood at either end, neither holding him up like the previous times. Rhodey had promised him if he could get all the way to the end by himself, he would be able to work in the workshop. He needed to get back to his workshop. 

“One more!” Sam encouraged. 

Tony took another deep breath and used one last spurt of energy to bring his shaking foot forward. As he reached the end he immediately collapsed into Sam’s arms, this time with a large smile on his face. Rhodey ran over to put the wheelchair under him, patting him on the shoulder enthusiastically. 

“Workshop time?” Tony asked happily. 

“Not yet, shower first,” Rhodey rolled his eyes with a smile. 

Tony pumped his fist and turned to leave. 

“Wait, before you go,” Sam stopped him. “I spoke with your doctor and he told me to give you these.” In Sam’s hand are crutches. They have a ring towards the top and handles a few inches under. Tony smirked seeing they were his favorite hot-rod red. “We are going to have to work you a bit harder until you get used to them, but I think you’re ready.”

Tony smiled, “Thank you.” He placed the crutches on his lap. 

“Don’t use them without supervision yet,” Sam warned as Tony turned to leave. 

“Got it!” Tony called, wheeling away.  
\------------------------------------------  
Despite his new crutches, Tony still spent time in the workshop working on braces to help him walk. He eventually didn’t want to depend on anything or anyone to be mobile. He’s Tony Stark, damn it. 

In his first hour of work, Rhodey came down and knocked on the glass. Tony, sitting on a stool, wiggled until the chair spun around. 

“I got called for a meeting with the UN for next week, are you going to be good?” Rhodey said.

“Of course platypus,” Tony rolled his eyes, grinning. 

“Remember what happened last time I left you on your own? And I will be gone three days this time.” Rhodey frowned. 

“I’m a big boy. I’ll probably be in the workshop all day unless I’m working with Sam, anyway,” Tonly fiddled with the metal rod in his hand. 

“Tony, I swear, you need to stay away from them. I can talk to them before I leave but-” Rhodey warned, staring deeply at him. 

“I will, sour-patch, no need to go all mama-bear,” Tony said. “Now leave, you got Dum-E over there anxious.”

Rhodey looked at the robot that was trying to sweep up a car tire and rolled his eyes. “I’ll be upstairs, but i’ll come get you for dinner.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Tony sighed distractedly, going back to his work. 

\------------------------------------

“Are things...alright, downstairs?” Tony asked Sam, who was bending his leg. It was night time, so Sam had come up to perform Tony’s physical therapy before bed. Rhodey had been gone two days so far so Sam had been spending extra time with Tony to keep him busy. 

Sam sighed, “They aren’t great, but thankfully Clint’s cooled down.” Sam paused when Tony winced as his leg was stretched. “You are not doing your stretches.”

“I am,” Tony pouted. 

“No you’re not. I can tell. You see how tight your muscles are? They are starting to clench up,” Sam chided. A chill went down Tony’s back as Sam slid a finger down the side of his leg, pointing at the muscles. “You see how tight it is here?” Tony closed his eyes as Sam’s hands then tickled the back of his legs. 

“I just forget sometimes,” Tony said, when he noticed Sam go quiet. 

Tony opened his eyes, staring into Sam’s dark ones. For a moment they held each other's gaze before Tony looked down, breaking the contact. They are both quiet for several moments. 

“Clint was going to come up to speak to you,” Sam said, shattering the silence. 

“What?” Tony tried to sit up. 

Sam pushed him back down gently, grabbing his other leg to stretch. “I’m not sure what he was going to say, but I don’t think he’s angry anymore- Steve talked to him. But Rhodey got a word of it and threatened him.”

Tony rolled his eyes. 

“Did you want to talk to him?” Sam asks. 

Tony lets out a long breath. “Something big is coming,” he says softly, looking past Sam. “I can feel it. I dislike him and his attitude, but I know we are going to need everyone. So if I have to suck up to Barton…”

Sam looks at Tony’s glassy eyes. “What did you see in the wormhole?” 

Tony’s breath catches, and he is thrown out of his thoughts. Before Sam can blink, Tony is sat up, transferring himself to the chair and wheeling into the bathroom. Sam jumps when the door slams closed. 

Staring at the closed door for several moments, he knows the man does not plan to come back out. Packing up his equipment, he leaves the room, cursing his brain-to-mouth filter. 

Tony didn’t hear Sam leave as he was too focused on trying not to die. Gasping for breath, Tony wrenches himself from the chair, limbs tangled on the ground. 

Please pick up, please pick up. I love you so much, Pepper.

He shakes harder as the cool tiles remind him of the cold vacuum of space.

It felt almost peaceful as he released the missile, falling slowly into the darkness.

Despite the cold that clings to his bones, his shirt is soaked in sweat as he mentally fights the images that tear through his mind. 

Despite being miles away, he imagined the explosion’s heat tickling his skin, chasing away the iciness of space. He tried to focus on that and not the fact he was probably going to die here, alone.

Dragging himself to the toilet, he makes it just in time to throw up everything he’s eaten that day, and probably yesterday too. Between heaving, he kicks off his leg braces and the stiff back brace, letting his body sag against the toilet. 

He pants, closing his eyes from the horrible taste on his tongue and the flashing memories. 

\---------------------------------------

That night, the nightmares slashed through his mind like knives. 

Pulling himself from the vision of a pile of dead Avengers, Tony stumbles out of bed, grabbing the nearby crutches without a second thought. 

His gait is unsteady but frantic as he walks out of the room. Water, he needs water. 

In his haste, he never notices that he has completely walked past his own kitchen, and used his memory to guide him to the most familiar floor. I guess a part of him was also longing for the feels associated with that floor- family. 

The kitchen is larger in its intention to host the whole team, and Tony, who’s steps are getting less controlled by the second, rushes to make it there before he collapses. 

Shaky fingers clench the edge of the cabinet as he searches for a glass. 

“Coulda saved them, coulda saved them,” Tony mutters unknowingly, vision getting dizzy. 

Tony’s hand smacks at a glass, causing it to smack into the others, sending the row crashing down. Tony, mind still wrapped in his nightmare, cuts himself on the shards, trying to pick up the mess. 

“Gotta do more, all your fault,” Tony mutters, clenching the glass shards in his hands. 

“Stark?” 

In his rush to turn around, Tony’s bare foot gets caught on glass and he slides backward, crashing to the ground. 

“Shit!” He hears. 

Tony blinks heavily as someone’s face appears in his blurred vision. Tears, he vaguely realizes, are the reason he cannot see straight. 

“Don’t move, Tony,” the voice says. 

“Coulda saved them, coulda saved them,” Tony squirms. 

“Stark, Tony! Stop moving, there’s glass everywhere!” Tony freezes at the command. It is then he recognizes the voice above him. Something rises in him, something that has been sitting quietly ever since he hit the ground all those months ago. 

“Fuck you,” Tony spits out. His eyes narrow and suddenly his arms are swinging. He may be one of the weakest on the team, but with all the upper body exercises he had been doing for his wheelchair, he really packed a punch. 

He felt a mix of softness and bone as he swung wildly, even when the person had his arms locked he kept fidgeting, not giving up. 

“Tony, I’m sorry.”

“No, fuck you, pigeondick. You don’t get to be sorry! All I have ever wanted to do is help. I give you guys food, money, gear, a place to live and I get shitted on. I always get shitted on! I’m so fucking tired of it, so tired. You guys were my family. My fucking family. But I didn’t mean shit to you guys did I? There was a family in this house, and you guys fooled me, thinking I was a part of it. I should have fucking known,” Tony glares. 

“No, that’s not true, Tony. You know that,” Clint says softly, regret shining in his eyes. 

“It is true, and you know it. Every other night I have nightmares. Rhodey thinks I dream of the fall, but that’s not true. I dream of you guys. Dead. Because of me. I dream about when I woke up to learn I would never walk again and my family was over in Wakanda, acting like I didn’t exist. I dream about the nights when we all used to watch movies until 2am, cook dinner together, when you and I would race through the vents- and it makes me throw up because I was so fucking stupid back then. I was so stupid to think any of it was real,” Tony yells. He doesn’t notice the tears steadily flowing out of his eyes. 

“It was real, and I'm so sorry we let you think that it wasn’t,” Clint says, choked up. 

Tony turns his glare to the wall. “I swear Tony. I was just so angry that you would support those assholes. Then Cap talked to me and-” Clint starts. 

“And you listened to him without a second thought. That’s the problem. You didn’t listen to both sides, you just listened to Steve. It was just a choice for you guys- me or Steve. I already knew you all didn’t trust me, I'm not blind, but I just thought-” Tony’s voice cracks and he squeezes his eyes shut. “That’s when I knew for sure we weren’t a family. Because family would never leave me.”

Clint watches the man cry with his own tears sliding down his face. He didn’t know what to say because everything Tony said was true. After talking to Laura (or being yelled at by Laura), he was feeling differently about the whole situation. And now hearing Tony, seeing Tony, he knew he had fucked up big time. All the anger he had felt evaporated, and he too was wishing things were back to the way they were before all of this. 

It felt like hours Tony laid in the glass shards and cried. Clint, after five minutes, brushed the shards away from Tony’s body and grabbed the first aid kit. Tony quieted down as Clint used the tweezers to remove the glass from the bottom of his feet and his palms. He bandaged them up tightly, prompting a wince from Tony. 

When he was finished, Clint debated with himself before picking Tony up (god he was light!) by the armpits and lifting him onto the kitchen island. He then spent another twenty minutes picking out the glass from Tony’s back as the man sat with his arms curled around himself, looking incredibly small and vulnerable. 

“Thank you,” Tony whispered, suddenly looking at Clint. 

Clint gulped. “I really am sorry,” he responded back, just as quietly. 

Tony looked down, clenching his arm a bit harder. 

“I really enjoyed those times we spent together. I was a dick to not trust you, and I will always regret that. I was a dick to blame you for what happened with Laura, you had nothing to do with it. I was just too insecure to think it was something I did, but I know better now,” Clint sighed. 

Tony doesn’t respond but his shoulders relax a bit. 

“I know we lost your trust but I will work hard at earning it back,” Clint says finally. 

Tony wipes his face of tears. 

“We should probably both get back to bed,” Clint says after a few moments. 

He waits until Tony nods and slowly wraps an arm around his shoulder and knees and picks him up bridal style. Clint carries him upstairs and places him in the bed gently on his side. Just as he turns to leave, Vision floats up from the floor holding the crutches that were forgotten. 

“Thank you, Mr. Barton,” Vision nods. From the look in his eyes, Clint knows he had been watching them during their conversation. 

“It’s no problem,” Clint says, walking back to his room. 

Tony and Vision both watch him leave in silence. 

“Are you okay, sir?” Vision says finally. 

Tony doesn’t answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed, let me know your thoughts! 
> 
> If you have any questions (or requests), just review and I'll answer them :)
> 
> P.S. Thank you Anon_I_dont_Care for the nickname 'pigeon dick' for Clint lol


	5. Did you know?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some Bucky action...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two updates in one day?? Enjoy!

Two mornings later, Tony, Vision, and Sam were sitting on the benches in the kitchen island watching Rhodey make grilled cheese sandwiches. 

“Are you sure nothing happened while I was gone?” Rhodey asked for the fifth time. He had seen Tony’s hands and feet and had been asking the group a billion questions ever since. Tony told him he had cut himself on a broken glass that shattered on the floor, but he felt there was something more than that. 

“Platypus, sourpatch, honeybear, nothing happened. We were all just chilling. And missing you of course!” Tony smiled. 

“I can attest to that, Colonial,” Vision said, chewing on a chip. 

“You eat, man?” Sam said suddenly.

“Yes, I do not need to consume subsistence to recharge like you all, however I do enjoy tasting new things,” Vision answered.

“Cool, dude,” Sam nods. 

Rhodey uses a spatula to place the sandwiches on the plates in front of the team. 

“You good?” Sam says, suddenly noticing Tony shifting on his seat. 

Tony freezes, “Yeah, i’m fine.”

“You sure, let me take a look because we haven’t done back stretches in a while and you might-”

“No, I’m good-” Tony says, turning away from Sam. 

“Well, let me just look because-”

“Sam, I said I'm-” Tony whines. 

Sam freezes as he lifts Tony’s shirt and sees his back. It is completely purple and blue with small cuts scattered all over. “What the fuck?” 

Rhodey, drops the spatula and walks over to look. “Tones.”

Tony had his eyes squeezed shut. “I fell.”

“You know what happened last time you fell, you should have told me,” Sam frowns. 

“But what about those cuts? How did you get those?” Rhodey asked.

“It doesn’t hurt,” Tony pouts, ignoring the question. 

Rhodey and Sam rolled their eyes. 

Despite his protest, Tony found himself laid face down on the couch with his head in Rhodey’s lap and Sam pressing an ice pack to his back. Tony had avoided all their questions and deleted the security footage so they decided to drop the subject, for now. They put on Harry Potter, a secret pleasure of Tony’s since as a scientist he was required to hate the unexplainable idea of magic, but secretly as a child he had loved the movie despite its flaws and had waited anxiously for his Hogwarts letter to take him away from his sorry life.

Sam, who sat on the floor in front of the couch, rotated the ice around certain places on Tony’s back, avoiding the large scar from his surgery. Every few seconds, Tony shivered at the contact.

“Snape is such a dick,” Tony says, prompting a laugh from the group. He smiled when Rhodey ran a hand through his hair.

\------------------------------------------------------

That night was another sleepless night for Tony. Instead of nightmares keeping him up, it was thoughts of Clint. He didn’t know how to feel about Clint’s apology and with every thought became less keen to accept it.

Sitting in his wheelchair on the roof, he looked out at the skyline of glowing buildings, searching for an answer. He wanted to talk to Rhodey about it, but he knew the man’s temper would not give him a logical answer.

Suddenly, shooting pain shot up his leg soon followed by the annoying bouncing. He wanted to scream as his bandaged foot smashed again and again on the footrest. He couldn’t do anything with his bandaged hands, so he was forced to squeeze his eyes shut and pray the pain would go away on its own. 

Pain shot down from his thighs and back up from his soles, and from the wetness of his socks, he was sure his feet were bleeding again. 

“Are you okay?” A voice said from behind him. 

Tony couldn’t even turn around as his legs ached. He bit his lip and groaned, hitting his bandaged hand against his thigh in pain. 

The voice must have realized his plight because he heard footsteps approaching and suddenly there was a super-soldier kneeling in front of him. 

He watched the long black hair hang as the soldier took in the situation, scanning his light blue eyes over Tony’s pale bouncing legs. Suddenly, those blue eyes were connected to Tony’s brown ones. 

“Can I touch you?” The soldier’s husky voice asked. 

Tony stared for an awkward amount of time. But when another groan of pain escaped his mouth, he nodded. 

Surprisingly, a soft hand gripped his thigh, pressing their thumb and fingers into either side. Even the metal hand used a soft grip as it kneaded into Tony’s jumpy leg. In a fashion similar to Sam, the soldier applied a practiced pressure into the muscles, getting them to relax and go limp under his hand. After ten minutes, Tony’s legs were still and loose. His feet still throbbed, but he was glad the spasms were over. 

“Thank you...James,” Tony said finally into the silence. 

The soldier, who had backed away slightly, nodded, looking down. 

Tony could no longer stand the pain in his feet so he lowered himself out of the chair and to the ground. He scooted so that he was closer to the edge of the roof and could see the skyline again. 

“You can sit,” Tony said, when he noticed the soldier still standing awkwardly. 

James nodded and sat down, about five feet away from Tony. 

“Are you adjusting...nicely?” Tony said when the awkwardness had started choking him. 

“Yes, I...like it...here,” James said, tilting his head. 

They both looked out at the view, only glancing at each other through the corner of their eyes. 

“How did you know how to do that?” Tony asked, referring to the muscle massage. 

James was quiet for a long moment. “I get them sometimes, in my shoulder.” He placed his hand at the top of his arm, where his stub met metal. “It can hurt.”

“Like a bitch,” Tony huffed. They both finally glanced at each other. “Why are you out here?” 

James broke his gaze and looked into his lap. He shrugged.

Tony sighed. “I get nightmares sometimes.”

“Me too,” James said quietly. 

“Sometimes things are just…” Tony broke off. 

“Too much,” James finished. 

“Yes. Too much,” Tony repeated. 

“There you are,” came the Captain’s voice at the door. 

James jumped up as Tony’s head whipped over. 

“You can’t stay up all night, Buc- James. We have an early training session tomorrow,” Steve said, pulling on the soldier’s sleeve. 

Tony watched as Steve dragged the soldier to the door.

“Night, Tony,” Steve said distractedly. 

Tony frowned as the door closed a second later. He looked out into the bustling New York streets again and sighed. 

\-----------------------------------------

Despite the soldier’s quick departure, he found James on the roof during several more sleepless nights where they talked some more. Eventually, the soldier could be found in Tony’s workshop every other evening- out before Steve or Rhodey could see him. 

James would just sit around, fiddling with tools or watching Tony work as the crippled man bustled around the lab. James also found a friendship with Tony’s bots, playing catch with them whenever they asked. Their time together in the lab was mostly quiet aside from Tony’s loud music, but sometimes James would ask a question or two about a piece of technology as Tony worked. 

Eventually, Tony decided to let the soldier work on mini-projects when he noticed James was interested in technology. He gave him instructions on how to build his own small robotic dog- which James spent two weeks making with little help from Tony. 

One day, though, outside of their usual meeting time, James burst into the lab, making Tony drop the almost finished leg brace he was working on. 

“December 16th, 1991-” James started loudly, breathing heavily. 

“Woah, James, calm down, what’s-” Tony said. 

“No, I need to get this out. I need to,” James said frantically, pacing at the door. 

“Okay, well sit down, and take a breath,” Tony said calmly, recognizing the beginnings of a panic attack. 

“December 16th, 1991, HYDRA gave me a mission. I remember following this car on my motorcycle. It was really dark that night and I waited until we got to this abandoned street before I caused the car to crash,” James said, eyes squeezed closed and hands clenched into fists. 

“Wait, December 16th, 1991, that’s-” Tony frowned. 

“And I grabbed the serum from the trunk. I remember the smell of smoke and gas, and blood. And this part of me...liked it,” James shivered. “I went around the side of the car and there was Howard-”

“Wait-”

“When he said my name, recognized me, something in my head was telling me to leave. Something was holding my fist back, trying to force my body to stop. I remembered being in his workshop, talking to him about the war. He was nice to me. But then everything went numb. I couldn’t control myself at all. I remember hitting him in the face and dragging him back to the car,” James said brokenly. 

Tony, who was gasping for breath, stumbled off the car and grabbed the table to steady himself. 

“But then I saw a lady. And I recognized her because she would always bring us cookies when I met Howard at his house. She would talk about her son, and how talented he was, how proud she was of him. So I couldn’t look at her when I wrapped my arm around her neck,” James cried, stuck in his memories. “And I squeezed-”

Tony collapsed on the ground and vomited. 

“Bucky don’t!” Steve roared, from where he had burst through the open door. 

Tony wiped his mouth and looked up, a tear running down his eye. “Did you know?” He says quietly to Steve. 

Steve keeps Tony’s gaze for several moments. “I didn’t know it was him.”

“Don’t bullshit me Rogers,” Tony snarls. “Did you know?” 

Steve sighs. “Yes.”

Tony lets out a breath, closing his eyes. Nothing is heard for several seconds except for Bucky’s gasping breaths. 

Suddenly, Tony picks up a nearby gauntlet and aims for Steve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was super short, but I'm sure you can guess how much angst will be happening next.
> 
> Thanks for reading, let me know what you think!


	6. Doesn't belong to you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fight we've been waiting for...

Previously:

Tony wiped his mouth and looked up, a tear running down his eye. “Did you know?” He says quietly to Steve. 

Steve keeps Tony’s gaze for several moments. “I didn’t know it was him.”

“Don’t bullshit me Rogers,” Tony snarls. “Did you know?” 

Steve sighs. “Yes.”

Tony lets out a breath, closing his eyes. Nothing is heard for several seconds except for Bucky’s gasping breaths. 

Suddenly, Tony picks up a nearby gauntlet and aims for Steve. 

Now:

Steve ducks, running towards Tony. Tony panics and shoots again, this time pushing Steve back. 

In the few seconds he gets while Steve is stunned, he looks around for his crutches. If he could just make it to a suit…

Steve jumps at him, causing them both to fall backwards from Tony’s unsteady sitting position. He’s just happy they avoided the vomit on the ground. 

Steve wrestles him, trying to pull off the gauntlet. Just as the super soldier gets the upper hand, the gauntlet shoots blindly. Tony can’t see what it hit since he is pressed to the ground, but he knew it wasn’t just a table when the suffocating weight leaves from his chest. 

“Bucky!” Tony hears. 

As Tony struggles to get up, he sees from the corner of his eye Steve standing next to a one-armed James, and a broken metal arm laying a few feet from them. 

Tony curses to himself, but he sees the growing anger in Steve’s eye as he takes in his best friend, and he uses the distraction to get into a suit. 

Steve, noticing Tony get suited up, gets even angrier. He uses his watch to call the shield to him. 

The watch was a part of the series which Tony created for the Avengers. They all wore them for emergencies and had different functions. Tony’s would turn into a gauntlet, Natasha’s would produce spider bites, and Clint’s would convert into a gun until he could gather his bow. Steve’s though, had a chip in it that had the ability to call his shield to him from any distance. He wasn’t able to use it in Wakanda though as the watch’s function was being intercepted by the mass amount of vibranium surrounding them. 

In less than five seconds, crashing was heard as the shield came from the training room, where Steve had last used it, and clicked to Steve’s forearm. 

He wasted no time and launched himself at Tony, who he knew would try to kill Bucky. 

Tony, whose anger had fled and was replaced by guilt for hurting James, was genuinely frightened as Steve came toward him. 

Having not worn the suit in about a year, Tony was having trouble controlling the movements, his weak legs not helping at all and required a bit of assistance from Friday. He was just able to dodge Steve and had to catch himself on the table. 

As Steve moved to get up, Tony aimed a gauntlet at him, in the intent to subdue, but was stopped by James, who used his other hand to push against the suit’s arm. Tony froze, looking at James in the eye. 

“You don’t want to do this,” James said softly. 

Before Tony could back down, Steve used the shield to smash into Tony, throwing him across the room. Tony immediately flew towards him, shooting rings out of the suit to capture Steve’s legs. Steve grabbed Tony around the neck and smashed him to the ground head-first. 

While Tony was dazed, Steve then shot at one of the cars that were sitting on a rig for Tony to repair, causing it to fall from it’s height and land on Tony. 

Tony ignored the red warnings that were highlighting themselves on the HUD and used the gauntlet to move the car off of him. 

Seeing Steve still bound, Tony turned and noticed James on the far end of the lab trying to pull the remaining prosthesis from his shoulder and wincing from the pain. The engineer in him was screaming about the damage James could do to his shoulder if he kept trying to pull it off with his bare hands. Before he could fly over, Steve used the shield to break the binding around his legs and had Tony’s suited leg in his hands. Steve used the shield to repeatedly beat Tony’s foot, destroying the left boot jet. 

Tony turned and shot at Steve, but he brought the shield up to reflect it, sending the beam right back into Tony- hitting his head and smashing him into the wall. He landed with a grunt and struggled to get up. 

“He’s trying to kill you,” he hears Steve say to James. 

“I don’t think-” James starts to say. 

“Go!” Steve says, shoving James towards the exit. 

James stumbles towards the doors, casting one last glance at a crumpled Tony, and runs out. Despite Steve’s orders, he runs to find Sam who he knows could help calm Steve down. 

Tony stands just in time to be smacked across the face with Steve’s shield. In twenty seconds, Steve dishes hit after hit into Tony’s chest and head. 

“Analyze his fight pattern,” Tony slurs to Friday, dizzy from the continuous punches. 

“Counter-measures ready,” Friday responds after a few seconds. 

“Defensive with intent to subdue,” Tony instructs. 

Friday does just that, taking control of the limbs. She catches the shield, pushing it back. She shoots out another bind, but Steve dodges and launches himself at Tony, dragging him to the ground. Once on the ground, Steve continuously pounds Tony on the head, breaking the helmet. Tony’s eyes widen as Steve lifts the shield above his head, smashing it into his chest. 

Immediately, Tony feels his bones bend with the shield, tearing through the muscles and breaking his ribs. His eyes blur and his vision tunnels, he can taste blood in his mouth. When Steve pulls the shield back out of his chest, the air gets thinner and he fights to get a last few words out. 

“That shield doesn’t belong to you,” he coughs, hearing Steve’s retreating footsteps. “My father made that shield. You don’t deserve it.”

As his eyes close against his will and the suit gets heavier as the arc reactor loses its juice, he vaguely hears a clatter as the door shuts. After that, he knew no more. 

\---------------------------------------

Upstairs, Steve burst into the common room, bloody with a black eye. 

Natasha, Clint, Wanda, and Scott jump up. “What happened?” Scott asks in shock. 

“Tony happened. He’s gone crazy! Let’s go,” Steve commands, grabbing his stray belongings from the couch and cabinets. 

“Wait, slow down, what happened?” Natasha asks, skeptical. 

“He was trying to kill Bucky and I had to stop him,” Steve grunts. 

“Why was he trying to kill James?” Scott asks, confused. 

Steve pauses, struggling. “I don’t know, but we have to get out of here. He’s crazy and is going to try to hurt us.” Steve turns when James walks into the room. “See, he blasted Bucky’s arm off!”

“That son of a bitch,” Clint mutters. 

“I knew it,” Wanda snarls with her heavy accent. Her hands start to grow red, and Clint moves away slightly. 

“Yes, so let's go, pack up your stuff!” Steve commands, the team rush to follow his orders. 

“He didn’t blast my arm off on purpose,” James says to Steve when the team leaves the room. 

“Yes he did. I know it. You don’t know Tony like I do. He did this on purpose. We have to go,” Steve says, walking swiftly to his room. 

James stands in the common room, conflicted. He couldn’t find Sam and he doesn’t have access to Rhodey and Vision’s floor. 

“Friday,” James suddenly remembers, “Where are Sam, Rhodey, and Vision?” 

“Mr.Wilson accompanied Colonial Rhodes on an emergency trip to UN headquarters to discuss a new amendment to the accords, and Vision is currently at SHIELD headquarters on his bi-monthly examination with Dr. Helen Cho. All parties have been alerted and are on their way back,” she responds. 

“Why would they leave him alone?” James wonders. 

“Boss is a grown man, Sergeant Barnes,” Friday responds firmly. “He has the ability to care for himself and should not have to have a baby sitter with him 24/7 just because his team members are violent and can be prone to angry fits. In other words, Boss’s team trusted you all and allowed Boss to be alone for a few hours.”

James frowned. “Did Steve hurt em real bad?” 

Friday doesn’t respond. 

James starts walking towards the elevator with the intent to check on his friend, but Steve appears, grabbing his arm. 

“Come on Buck, you need to finish packing. The quinjet is almost ready,” Steve says, guiding James towards the bedrooms.

\-------------------------------------------------

Even though it only took minutes for the team to return, it felt like hours Friday was watching her boss struggle to survive. It was times like these she wished she could have a body like Vision. The suit was down so she could not track his vitals, but from the pooling blood and his loud hitching breaths, she knew he was in a bad way.

For Rhodey, every step felt like slow-motion, walking towards his best friend’s still figure. The flashing red of the lab reflected Rhodey’s frightened insides. He watched as Sam ran in front of him, dropping down next to Tony. He still could not bring himself to move any faster- fear had trapped his body. 

“Fuck, he can’t breath,” Sam yelled, and suddenly Rhodey’s world was back on pace. 

“Ambulance is en route, eta five minutes,” Friday said, turning the lights back to normal now that help had arrived. 

Rhodey kneeled next to his friend and hovered. 

Tony was in his suit, a heap on the floor. The suit was dented and parts were broken, wires sticking out. The lack of a helmet gave them a good view of Tony’s still face with blood leaking from his nose and ears. His lips were pale, quickly turning blue. 

“Tony, Tony,” Sam called. 

Tony’s eyes moved to slits and he let out a low groan. “Rho,” Tony whispered. 

“I’m here, buddy,” Rhodey found himself saying. 

Suddenly, Vision appeared from the ceiling, holding an oxygen mask. Sam quickly placed it over Tony’s mouth. 

“Tony, i’m going to move you okay?” Sam said. 

“Rho’ey,” Tony whispered again, eyes falling closed lazily. “Don’t let em’ hurt you.”

Rhodey’s heart dropped when he saw the bloody and scratched shield on the floor. He had wondered why Friday had refused to give him details on the phone, but now he knew why. 

When Sam started moving Tony’s body into recovery position, Tony immediately cried out in pain and started coughing. 

“Please stop,” Tony cried. 

“You’re okay, Tones,” Rhodey shushed, placing a gentle hand on his friend’s cheek. 

Vision moved towards Tony’s legs and pulled the suit’s releases so that the bottom of the suit opened up. Tony’s left foot was bloody and looked damaged, so he left on the boot to keep it splinted. Vision looked for the release latches for the upper part. 

“Leave it on,” Friday interrupts. “Boss received significant damage to his chest and sternum region and the chestplate of the suit is the only thing keeping his bones together.”

Tony, who had been whimpering softly, suddenly went quiet and his eyes drifted closed. 

“Ton-” Sam started. 

He was interrupted by Tony’s limbs which started seizing violently. His legs pulled up to his chest before kicking out repeatedly. His arms, still trapped in the iron man suit, dragged lazily across the floor. As the seizure started, Tony’s head repeatedly banged against the floor, but Rhodey quickly swooped under him so that his friend’s head was in his lap. 

“Hold his head still, we don’t know if he caused any damage to his spinal cord again,” Sam instructed. Rhodey nodded and placed his hands on either side of Tony’s head, trying to fight his friend’s twitching. 

Vision, who was moving all the sharp objects out of the way, frowned when he noticed something in the window. Moving closer, he was able to identify it as the quinjet- Tony’s quinjet. And it was flying fast away from the compound. Vision let out a large sigh before returning back to the group. 

Rhodey was wiping the white foam from Tony’s mouth as the man let out choking sounds. When he finished, Sam forced the oxygen mask around Tony’s head again and tried to hold it on against the convulsions. Rhodey was barely keeping it together as he watched his friend lose control of his body. 

It felt like hours, but finally Tony’s limbs started slowing down. Just as his head stopped its bobbing, the paramedics burst in, being guided by Friday. 

As they left, Friday smirked to herself, downloading the last hour of security footage and combining it with a feed from the iron man helmet. This was something the world needed to see.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, please review!!


	7. Code?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Biggest, most angsty chapter yet. So many things are happening at once, stay alert!

On the quinjet, Bucky was extremely close to throwing himself off the jet, parachute or not. He didn’t want to go with the Rogues and had actively fought Steve as he forced his friend onto the plane. Without his arm and the sharp pain that remained in his shoulder, he was no match for the angry Captain. 

He sat in the back of the jet, trying to tune out the angry gossip the team spewed about Tony.

“Bucky said something about Howard and then he just got mad and started shooting at us,” Steve told the group.

“That dude has got problems,” Clint said.

“And now Bucky has no arm!” Steve growled.

“I can’t believe he would do something like that,” Natasha said. “I thought he was better than that.”

“I can! We may have been fooled by him once, but remember Ultron? He hasn’t changed. Even before we knew him he was selling weapons and profiting off of people’s pain,” Clint snarled. 

Wanda’s lip curled. “He killed my parents,” she growled. “His injury changes nothing. He is the same angry playboy he was before.”

“Why is James sulking?” Clint asked, now noticing the silent super soldier. 

“Tony had convinced him he was nice. He thought they were friends. He feels betrayed,” Steve supplied, trying to get his Starkphone to work. 

James rolled his eyes and turned further away from the Rogues, he felt betrayed but not by the man they were talking about.

“Hey, join the club. We’ve all been betrayed by Stark before. I even apologized to him not too long ago, I thought he had changed. Even Laura convinced me he was good! He fools everyone,” Clint said to him. 

James didn’t respond, prompting a shrug from Clint who just continued to rant. James tuned him out and looked over at Scott, who sat silently. He was extremely tense and focused on his shoes the whole ride. If James was not concerned about plotting ways to escape, he might have asked him what was wrong. 

Steve sat on the bench next to him. “Listen Buc- James. I know you think Tony is nice, but he isn’t. We know him. He is not a good guy. You’ve gotten to see this fake nice side of him because he can’t walk and stuff, but that’s just an act,” Steve said softly. 

James looked his friend in the eye. His thoughts were all jumbled and his emotions were even worse. Looking at Steve though, he could tell that his friend believed what he said- that Stark was a cruel man. Maybe he’s right? Maybe it was all an act. He didn’t  _ really _ know the guy. 

“We have to tell the public before Stark does. He’s going to lie and twist things around,” Clint said from the front. 

Steve froze. He knew if Tony told the world what happened, the truth, the public might start to hate him. There’s no way of knowing what Tony will say, he could make up fake stories and have his AI make fake recordings. Tony was known for exaggerating things. He could turn the whole world against the Rogues. He couldn’t let that happen. He was Captain America. He couldn’t let the people lose their faith in him. “That’s a good idea,” Steve jumped up. “Nat can you record me?” 

Natasha grabbed the phone, turning on the camera and pointing it towards Steve. 

“Hello everyone, it’s Captain America. Just a few minutes ago, Bucky and I were attacked by Tony Stark. He beat us up and blasted off Bucky’s arm. There’s no telling what else he might do, he’s dangerous,” Steve said. 

Natasha stopped recording when she realized Steve was finished after the brief statement. It was horribly short and sounded impromptu, but it was Captain America- the public likely wouldn’t care about any imperfections.

“That was good, Steve,” Clint said from the front. “And we are approaching Wakanda by the way.”

The team looked out at the vast forest of trees waiting for the city to appear. The team stumbled when the barrier pushed them back and caused the quinjet to jolt. 

“Why didn’t T’Challa open the barrier? Doesn't he know we are coming?” Clint said. 

“No,” Steve said sheepishly. “I couldn’t figure out how to text him. But it doesn’t matter, he’s our friend, he’ll let us stay.” The truth was, he did honestly try to text T’Challa, but he figured explaining in person was better- at least it would be less likely for him to reject them.

Natasha frowned, but stayed quiet. 

After a few minutes of them hovering, the barrier suddenly opened on its own and Clint flew in. 

“See? Steve smiled. 

Clint flew the jet into the large city and landed on the hanger. With their suitcases in hand, the team stepped out, only to be met with over a hundred guards surrounding them with weapons and the King nowhere to be found. 

\--------------------------------------------------------

Back in the U.S. things were going crazy. Every TV station was replaying Steve’s video on repeat. People were confused, scared, and angry. Every social media page was full of gossip on the topic. Some people said it was fake, some said it was real, but the majority were feeling one thing- hate for Tony Stark.

While the whole world gossiped about him, the man in question slept on, unaware of it all.

“A coma?” Rhodey yelled in the doctor’s face. 

“Yes, we have no idea when he will wake up. He sustained a severe head injury which is what caused his seizure. In addition, we believe he has injured his spinal cord again so we are currently performing a CT scan on him now,” The doctor reported. 

“Again? So he’ll lose all feeling in his legs now?” Rhodey asked, massaging his temples.

The doctor paused. “The damage looks like a cervical spinal injury, which is further up.”

“Which means…” Rhodey waved his hands, out of patience. 

“Which means we could be looking at total paralysis from the neck down,” The doctor finished.

Rhodey looked ready to either punch the doctor or faint. 

“We aren’t sure yet, there is quite a bit of swelling. We will not know his full range of motion until he wakes up. He also has severe injuries to his chest region. He’s on a ventilator right now and we plan to do surgery-”

“No, call Helen Cho,” Rhodey interrupts. 

“Who is-”

“That’s Tony’s doctor. We want her to do the surgery and be in charge of his care,” Rhodey said firmly. 

The doctor gulps but nods. “He’s in the ICU, floor 7 room 23.”

Rhodey immediately leaves, gathering Vision and Sam from the waiting room and walking to the elevator. 

As they go, a nurse happens to turn the channel, gasping at the news. 

\--------------------------------------

Rhodey, Sam, and Vision sit in Tony's hospital room in silence. Rhodey stands up, pacing back in forth anxiously, mind a mess. 

His phone keeps buzzing with texts and calls but he’s too worked up to check them. He finally loses his patience and pulls it out of his pocket, tossing it against the wall. The phone cracks and goes silent. Rhodey collapses on a chair. 

“I believe it would be wise to consume some subsenance, Mr. Rhodes,” Vision says into the silence. 

“You guys go ahead, I can’t even think about eating right now,” Rhodey says, head in hands. 

Vision and Sam glance at each other. “We’ll be back then.” They both walk out and close the door. 

When the door closes, Rhodey sighs and walks up to Tony’s bedside. He wanted to throw up just looking at him. His best friend was black and blue, covered in bandages and wires. He had a stiff neck brace that connected to one holding his back in place and his head was shaved unevenly with ugly stitches going from his ear to the top of his head. There was a huge tube thing that parted Tony’s chapped lips and went down his throat. He watched his friend’s chest move artificially.

“Why you, Tones?” Rhodey whispered. He picked up Tony’s pale hand and held it to his cheek.

“Rhodey, Vision has something he needs to tell you,” Sam said, coming back with a tray of food. 

“Guys, I can’t think right now-”

“No,” Sam said. Rhodey noticed his wide eyes. “You need to hear this.”

“We have not had the ability to ask Mr.Stark about what occurred in the workshop, however, I did see the quinjet departing,” Vision says. 

“I don’t need to ask Tony to know Captain fucking America did this. I saw his shield in the workshop. I just can’t even fucking think about that right now because my best friend is in the ICU and might die,” Rhodey snarls.

Vision and Sam sigh, sitting down in silence.

\--------------------------------------

Even though she had felt intense guilt about it, Pepper had washed her hands of Tony Stark. She was done with laziness, she was done with the stress, and she was done with Iron Man. 

She would be lying if there were times she wasn’t worried though. Like during the Accords fiasco. There were times when she would go to sleep at night with Tony on her mind, hoping he wasn’t stressing himself out too much, hoping he was taking care of himself. 

These past few months have made her extremely anxious. Ever since the Accords have come out, there wasn’t much news about Tony. The news constantly reported about Ross and the Rogues, but not much of Tony besides a passing comment. But after word of the Rogue’s escape, the news about Tony suddenly stopped. Stark Industries suddenly went quiet, the stocks had dropped, and even Tony himself hasn’t been seen in public. 

A while ago, she had messaged Rhodey and decided to stay out of it after a brief assurance of Tony’s wellbeing. She knew they hadn’t broken up on the happiest of terms, so she figured they were still angry with her. She did end up marrying one of Tony’s best friends, after all. Her and Happy both were isolated from Tony ever since the break up. 

Deep down, she knows she should’ve tried harder to get in contact. She knows Tony depended on her greatly and would probably have had a hard time adjusting, but she tried so hard to just erase that part of her life. She never wanted to turn back.

But when she was sitting in her office, enjoying her lunch break with Happy, and the television turned to Steve’s slightly beat up face, something in her that she was sure was dead ignited in her again. She dropped her sandwich right on the floor and wasted no time in reaching for her phone. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

After what felt like hours of waiting, Dr. Cho walked in. 

She took in the scene and went straight into doctor mode. “How long since the accident?” 

“About three hours,” Sam supplied. 

Dr. Cho sighed. “The tests came back and he is paralyzed from the neck down-”

“Fuck,” Rhodey cursed. 

“But I have been making advancements on the cradle and it might work-”

“Oh great,” Sam smiled, relieved. 

“So he’ll be fixed? Be able to walk again?” Rhodey asked, breathless. 

“Well no, the cradle can only fix spinal injuries in the first five hours they occur so his injury before the accident will still be the same. Even then, it’s not guaranteed to work completely. But another problem I noticed when I looked at his chest x-rays is many of his bones are broken and cracked. This means I will have to reconstruct his chest,” Dr. Cho said. 

“But can you do that in less than two hours?” Sam asked, confused. 

“No, that’s the problem. The cradle needs direct access to his back, but laying him on his stomach can do further damage to his chest. I can do a temporary chest surgery so that he will at least stay stable during the cradle process, but this will mean I won’t be able to do surgery on his chest for several weeks until it heals, this will probably leave him with chronic pain in the long run. Rhodey, as his medical proxy you need to decide what you want to do.”

Rhodey sighs, running a hand over his face. “So either fix his chest or fix his back? Fixing his chest will leave him paralyzed from the neck down, and fixing his back will leave him unable to breath and chronic pain?”

Dr. Cho nodded. 

Sam and Vision stayed silent, glad they weren’t the one making the final decision. 

Rhodey went through each option. He was essentially deciding if his friend would be paralyzed for life, or face a life full of pain. He looked at Tony’s silent figure. “Do the back surgery,” Rhodey sighed. 

He hoped Tony didn’t hate him. 

\-----------------------------------------------------

“We’re T’Challa’s friends,” Steve pleaded. 

The Wakandan guards had the team on their knees with their hands in the air. Two of the guards were going through their suitcases, throwing their clothes all over. Another two were climbing through the quinjet, searching for weapons.

“T’Challa is not expecting visitors today,” One of the women spoke up. 

“But-” Steve started.

“Bring them to the cells,” She finished. 

The team’s faces paled. 

“Wait, can we talk to T’Challa? Please!” Steve yelled as one of the guards dragged him away. 

“That is King T’Challa to you,” The woman snarled in her heavy accent. 

Instead of bringing them to the palace, the guards dragged them to a smaller building adjacent to it. They went down several flights of stairs, Steve protesting the whole way, before being deposited in several dark cells. 

Natasha and Clint were in one, Scott and James were in the other, with Steve and Wanda in the final cell that had slightly more enforcement than the others. With an order from their leader in their native tongue, most the guards left while two lingered to monitor the Rogues. 

While Steve, Natasha, Wanda, and Clint yelled threats at the guards, Scott and James rolled their eyes at the group, both wishing they had jumped off the plane when they had gotten the chance.

\-----------------------------------------------------

Arriving at the compound, Pepper was shocked at the mess on the lower floors. Clothes were everywhere, take-out boxes flooded the kitchen, and it smelled like...boy. 

Moving downstairs and turning on the lights in Tony’s workshop, she froze at the scene. Tables were overturned, walls and floors were dented, and worse of all was the blood that covered the floor. 

She watched Steve’s video but she honestly didn’t believe it. Even seeing the evidence, something in her told her there was more to the story.

“Friday? Where is Tony?” She asked, eyes wide and body frozen. 

“Code?” Friday said flatly. 

“Friday? It’s Pepper-” Pepper said in surprise. 

“Code,” Friday said angrily. 

“2Alpha641,” Pepper choked out. 

Friday hesitated. “Boss is currently at Shield medical hospital in Doctor Cho’s Private Lab,” she said, sounding uncharacteristically mechanical. 

“Okay, thanks,” Pepper says, unnerved. 

She leaves quickly, meeting Happy in the lobby and going back to the car. 

\--------------------------------------------------

“So I put a splint in his chest that’s basically holding everything in place but also protecting his heart and lungs so they don’t get crushed or punctured until I can perform the surgery,” Dr. Cho told the group who were watching Tony in the cradle from the viewing room.

“How long does this take?” Rhodey asked, anxious.

“About another two hours, the spine is delicate so the machine has to work slowly,” Dr. Cho explains. 

“And he’ll be back to before after this right? He’ll be able to move his body and feel everything?” Sam asked again. 

“That’s what we are hoping for. He will still need to go through physical therapy like before, but he should be fine in a few months,” Dr. Cho responded. 

“Can you explain his chest injury further?” Vision asks. 

“You told me when you found him there was an indent in Tony’s chestplate and Captain America’s shield was nearby. It is obvious to assume Steve must have shoved the shield into the power source of the suit. So when the shield impacted Tony’s chest, the force behind it caused his bones and muscles to cave in. This caused his ribs and sternum to press inwards, putting pressure on Tony’s lungs and heart. The force broke several of his ribs and shattered his sternum in pieces. I will have to replace all of these bones with 3-D printed artificial ones,” Dr. Cho sighed. 

“Fuck Rogers,” Rhodey cursed. “Fuck him and his shitty ass team.”

No one disagreed with the fuming man. They all nodded silently and turned back to the fragile man inside the cradle, praying for his recovery. 

\-----------------------------------------

The UN was in chaos. Each one of their countries were panicking with the news of Tony Stark going Rogue. They had called an emergency meeting to discuss the dilemma and debate what to do about it. Several countries flew in on the fastest jets possible, or joined the conference via hologram. 

In the large meeting room, the representatives were all yelling at each other, arguing over their opinions of the whole issue. Finally, the moderator banged on the table. 

“Listen, you were all called here for an emergency meeting due to the public reaction of the video Steve Rogers, better known as Captain America, uploaded several hours ago,” the moderator started. “For those who have not seen it, we will play it twice and we hope everyone can stay silent until the video is over.”

A large screen was rolled out in the center of the hall and they spent two minutes watching the shaky video of Captain America’s speech. Many eyes widened and some scoffed. The lights turned back up when they finished. People immediately started muttering to their neighbors. 

“Now, several things I would like to mention before our open debate begins. The video was tested by technicians and it is authentic. We have reached out to Steve Rogers and Tony Stark, neither have answered our calls or summons. We even reached out to their seconds, Natasha Romanoff and James Rhodes respectively, and we still have not received any answer. A team was sent out to the compound and it seems no one is there. From the video we can conclude that Steve Rogers was on a plane and most likely not on U.S soil anymore, but where- we do not know. We have no idea where Tony Stark is at all. With this information in mind, we may begin,” The moderator says. 

“Lies! Why should we trust the Captain? He did not support the Accords in the first place, he could just be causing trouble,” the German representative yelled in his heavy accent.

“He signed them in the end! He has not caused any trouble since,” the United Kingdom representative supplied. 

“Tony Stark has been known to be rash and get angry at times. I called him once about making a weapon for my troops and after telling me he no longer manufactures explosives he called me a ‘dumbass’ and I believe he told me to uh ‘eat ass’, whatever that means,” The French representative accounted, confused. 

A few representatives coughed into their shirts. 

“I do not care if he attacked the Captain or not. All I know is the public believes he did. And the public are looking to us to do something about it. If both parties refuse to respond to our summons, we must do something to calm the public,” says the Austrian representative. 

“He’s right, they are our responsibility and it will look badly on us and the Accords if we refuse to act. James Barnes has not yet signed the Accords therefore he is recognized as a civilian. If Tony Stark did blast off his arm then he is in violation of the Sokovia Accords Amendment 5 paragraph 3,” the Italian representative says. 

“Amendment 5 paragraph 3 states ‘Any enhanced individuals who use their powers to break the law (including those who take part in extralegal vigilante activities), or are otherwise deemed to be a threat to the safety of the general public, may be detained indefinitely without trial’,” the moderator reads. 

“But we have no proof!” The German representative yells. “I do not trust that Captain.”

“Yes, but the public needs us to act now. If the Avengers do not want to speak up for themselves, then it is up to us to calm the public,” the Italian representative responds. 

“Motion to end the open debate and start the vote?” the moderator asks when everyone is silent in thought. 

\------------------------------------------------

In a small apartment in Queens, Peter Parker sits with his Aunt on the sofa, each holding their breath as they watch the news. 

“Anthony Stark, known as Iron Man, will be detained indefinitely without trial following the United Nations council meeting that took place just minutes ago,” the news reporter said into the camera. 

Peter jumps up, pacing in front of the television. “I know he didn’t do this! Mr. Stark would never hurt someone else unless he needed to!”

May sighed, “Sit down, Peter. We don’t know all the facts.” She appreciated her nephew’s enthusiasm, but she only met Mr.Stark twice- to explain Peter’s grant, and to pick Peter up for said grant. She barely knew the man. 

“I don’t need the facts. I know Mr. Stark wouldn’t do something like that!” Peter yells. “I need to do something.” May barely has time to react as Peter burst out the door, heading for the subway. 

Peter pauses when he gets outside the building. “Siri, where is the Avengers compound?” 

\--------------------------------------------------

Pepper and Happy burst into Shield Medical Center after almost 30 minutes of background checks and security clearings. 

“I’m Pepper Potts and i’m looking for Tony Stark’s room?” Pepper asks the receptionist, out of breath. 

The woman sighs dramatically, pulling out a stack of paperwork. “Have you cleared-” 

“Pepper?” 

Pepper and Happy turn around to see Rhodey coming down a hallway. “Rhodey,” she smiles. 

Rhodey doesn’t smile and stops several feet away from them. “What are you doing here?” 

“I came to check on Tony,” she frowns. 

“Why?” Rhodey says, face flat.

“Because I care-”

“Try that again,” Rhodey growls. 

Pepper sighs. “I was worried about him. Have you seen the news?”

Rhodey frowns, a bad feeling erupting in his chest. “Wait, go back, how did you know Tony was in the hospital?”

Pepper pulls out her phone, showing Rhodey the video of Steve. 

“Fuck!” Rhodey shouts, causing the people in the lobby to pause and stare at him. Rhodey takes no notice and pulls at his nonexistent hair. 

“Come on,” he grumbles, walking swiftly down the hall and to the elevator. 

When Pepper walks into Tony’s room, her body freezes in the doorway. They must be in the wrong room because there’s no way the small, frail, broken man on the bed is Tony Stark. 

“What happened?” Happy chokes out, just as frozen. 

“Steve Rogers happened,” Rhodey grunts, pacing again. “We weren't there for whatever fight happened, but it must have been bad. We don’t even know why they fought.”

“Who are they?” Sam asks, staring at Pepper and Happy. 

“Ms. Potts is the former CEO of Stark Industries and Mr.Hogan is Mr.Stark’s former head of security,” Vision supplies. 

“My name’s Pepper, but Tony, and now everyone, calls me Pepper.”

“And my name Harold, but Tony, and now everyone, calls me Happy.”

“My name’s Sam Wilson, known as the Falcon, I was originally recruited by Steve Rogers.”

“Can you show them the video news thing you showed me?” Rhodey says.

They both watch the video twice. At the end, Vision is quiet in thought and Sam looks as frustrated as Rhodey.

Suddenly, Pepper’s phone starts buzzing. “Shit,” she curses. 

“What?” Everyone says at once. 

Pepper is quiet for a few seconds as she reads the news update. “The UN announced they are detaining Tony. Now the public is going crazy, people are already sending him death threats,” Pepper reads. 

“Fuck! I can’t focus on all this at once!” Rhodey yells, on the verge of a panic attack. 

“That’s why we’re here. To help,” Pepper says. 

“And so are we,” Sam says. 

Rhodey sighs, running a hand over his face. “We have to fix this.”

\-------------------------------------------------

Peter, finally arriving at the compound, was a little frightened at how empty and ghostly it seemed. 

“Peter! Finally you’re here!” Friday said, relieved. 

Peter jumped at hearing her voice. “Yes, I came because I saw that video Steve posted. I don’t believe what he said. I may not have known Mr.Stark for very long, but I know he isn’t dangerous. Heck, Steve dropped a crate onto my head, I think he’s the dangerous one!”

“Good, the video is not true,” Friday interrupted the rant. “Well not completely.” 

“I knew it. But I came to find proof that he’s lying-”

“I already have it!” Friday says, “But I can’t do anything with it.”

  
“Why?!” Peter cries. “Do you know what they are going to do to Mr. Stark if we don’t show them he’s innocent? They said they are going to detain him! Mr. Stark can’t get arrested, then who’s going to save the world? Steve certainly won’t because-” 

“I can’t do anything because I don’t have the permission to. I need either Boss’ access code, or an override code,” she says. 

“How do I get those?” Peter asks. 

“You need to go to Boss’ location and find Mr. Rhodes, his override code is at a high-enough access level to access the footage,” Friday instructs. 

“Mr. Rhodes? I don’t know who that is. I didn’t really get a chance to meet everyone before I got to the airport. I mean Mr. Stark just brought me there and then woah we’re all fighting and-”

“This is James Rhodes. He is Boss’ best friend. He will be with Boss, I know it,” Friday says, showing a hologram visual of Rhodey.

“I can find him! But where is Mr.Stark?” Peter asks. 

Friday is quiet for several seconds. “I cannot tell you their location without the override code, but you do not know it. If I break protocol and tell you their location, my system automatically shuts down due to the new ‘Ultron protocol’.”

“Well if you shut down, how will I be able to get the footage?” Peter asks, confused.

“You need to travel to the location, gather Mr. Rhodes, and bring him back here. He knows how to turn me back on. If he cannot, I have stored the footage in the special folder on the Stark database under “2S0T2R0”,” Friday says. 

“That’s so hard to remember,” Peter groans. 

“It has to be as non discoverable as possible. Now Boss is located at Shield Medical Center and Hospital in the ICU, hurry!” Friday says, breaking up towards the end. 

Peter never ran faster in his life.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. If you have any questions, I don't mind answering them! Please review! <3


	8. It Will Not Be

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter Parker to save the day!

“Captain,” T’Challa greets. 

The Rogues were slumped in their cells. Half of them were asleep and half were daydreaming on how they would kill Tony Stark.

Steve practically collapses to his knees when he hears the King. “T’Challa, thank God you are here. We’ve been asking to see you since we arrived and they wouldn’t let us.”

T’Challa stands in front of the Captain’s cell, an unreadable expression on his face. “Yes, the guards were just doing their job as we were not expecting visitors today,” he says in his heavy accent. 

“We were not planning to visit or we would have warned you earlier, but we were attacked-” Steve starts. 

“Yes, your video has gone international. I have seen it, but I have questions,” T”Challa interrupts.

“Of course. We would not mind answering them, but...do you think we could get out of these cells?” Steve asks. 

“King,” One of the guards pipe up, stepping forward in warning.

“It’s just that Bucky just had his arm cut off and we have been on the run all day so we are extremely tired and hungry,” Steve continues. 

T’Challa stares at them all for several moments before turning to leave. “Release them and settle them in their previous quarters. Watch them and have them meet me in the dining hall tonight,” he says to the guards. 

The guards nod and move to open the cells. Steve cannot help the smile on his face. 

\--------------------------------------------------

Rhodey burst into Tony’s hospital room where he had been pacing outside. Pepper, Happy, Vision, and Sam all jump when he walked in. 

“I have to go to the UN,” Rhodey announced. “They can’t just detain Tony.”

“Why don’t you just call them?” Pepper asks.

“My phone is broken and I can’t remember their number. There’s no way to find it since it’s a classified government number,” Rhodey sighs. 

“How did you break your phone?” Happy tilts his head. 

“Unimportant,” Rhodey huffs. 

“I’m coming with you,” Sam says, standing. 

“No, I will go alone and explain the situation. I need you to keep looking for the Rogues and watch over Tony,” Rhodey said, grabbing his things and walking towards the door. 

The others watched him go, holding their breath. 

\------------------------------------------

The UN members were still sitting in the same spots they had occupied all day. They were waiting for more news to come in and in the meantime were still debating each other off the record. 

Rhodey burst through the big doors causing everyone to suddenly quiet down. 

“Colonial Rhodes, welcome. Please, take the floor,” the moderator said in shock. 

“I’m not here for long, I just need to clear up a few things,” Rhodey said tensely, walking to the front of the hall. 

“Yes, you also need to clear up why you all have been out of contact when we have been reaching out to you all day,” someone speaks up. 

Rhodey sighs. “I don’t know why Steve and the other Rogues have been ignoring your calls, but Tony has been in the hospital since earlier and my phone is broken.”

Several people started asking questions. “One at a time!” The moderator spoke up. 

“Shouldn’t we be calling you and Tony the ‘Rogues’ now since he attacked Captain America?” the United Kingdom representative speaks up. 

“Well Tony-”

“Yes, did he attack Captain America?” the Austrian representative asks.

“No, Captain America attacked him!” Rhodey shouts. 

“I knew it!” The German representative shouts. 

“Then how did Barnes’ arm get blown off?” The French representative asks skeptically. 

Rhodey pauses. “I don’t know-”

“Were you even there, Colonial?” the French man asks. 

“Well no-” Rhodey shifts. 

“Then how do you know what happened? We cannot trust your word. You are biased,” the French representative dismisses. 

“How do you know Barnes’ arm was blown off? You weren’t there either,” Rhodey shoots back. 

Everyone is quiet. 

Rhodey sighs. “Look, all I know is when we went down to the workshop, Tony was beaten bloody and the Rogues were gone. Tony would not have attacked the Captain or Barnes, and if he did, it wouldn’t be for no reason. He was disabled to begin with-”

“What?” The moderator interrupts. 

Rhodey frowns, sighing. He knew Tony would not want the whole world to know he was crippled, but the UN needed to know in order to not detain him. Hopefully his friend would forgive him. “Tony is in a wheelchair-”

“When did this happen? Why did we not know about this?” the German representative jumped up. 

“Almost a year ago. Tony was crippled during the fight at the airport when he was shot out of the sky. He had a spinal injury and was paralyzed from the waist down,” Rhodey explains. 

“A year ago? This makes no sense. We saw him about a month ago,” the English man spoke up. 

Rhodey looks confused. “A month ago?”

“Yes, he has attended several video meetings in the last few months,” the moderator adds. “He was not in a wheelchair during any of them.” He looks at Rhodey skeptically. 

Rhodey curses in his head at his friend. “He is in a wheelchair, I promise.”

“Once again, you have no proof. If Mr.Stark was crippled he should have alerted the UN,” the Italian representative shouts. 

Again, chatter started up as the representatives yelled at each other. 

\----------------------------------------

Peter pants as he finally arrives at Shield Medical Center. He uses his small stature to slip into the elevator and rides it up to the ICU. Once he steps out, he runs through the hall, glancing at the rooms left and right for any sign of Mr. Stark. 

Reaching the biggest room at the end of the hall, he notices a familiar face.

Peter freezes in front of the black man that sits in a chair next to the closed door. The man, who was looking down at his phone, whips up his head as he notices Peter approaching. “Can I help you kid?” 

“Uh, yes,” Peter’s voice cracks. “I’m looking for Mr. Stark. Tony Stark. Anthony? Stark. Iron Man,” Peter fumbles. 

“Why?” The man looks him up and down flatly. 

“I need to speak to his friend Rhodes. Jake? Jack? James? John? Something Rhodes. I know that,” Peter stutters. 

Sam rolls his eyes. “He’s not here kid.”

Peter’s face drops. “Okay, thanks.” He turns to walk down the hall, wondering what to do next. 

“Wait,” Sam says. Peter turns back around. “Your voice sounds familiar.”

Peter immediately blushes and looks down at his sneakers. 

“Are you that kid from the airport? The one with the gimmick? A red suit with things shooting out of him?” Sam asks. 

Almost impossibly, Peter blushes harder. He checks down the empty hall before moving closer to Sam. “Yeah, i’m Spider-Man.”

Sam immediately scoffs. “ _ Man _ ? You’re like 10. Should be Spider- _ Boy _ .”

Peter frowns. “I’m 15! I’m a man!”

Sam laughs harder while Peter waits angrily. 

“Do you know when Rhodes is getting back? Or where I can find him?” Peter huffs. 

“He’s at the UN right now.”

“The big building on 1st Avenue?” Peter asks.

At Sam’s nod, Peter takes off running down the hall.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Please, take your seats,” T’Challa says as the Rogues walk into the dining hall.

The team all circle the table, eyes wide at the large amount of food that sits cooling. 

Steve sits across from T’Challa at the other end of the large table. Wanda and Clint sit at his sides while Natasha sits next to Clint, Scott sits next to Wanda, and James sits next to Natasha, closest to the king. 

Several servers come to lay napkins in their laps before T’Challa gestures for them to eat. 

“I hope you do not mind, but I would like to get straight to business,” T’Challa says after a few minutes. He had barely touched his food, plate looking not dissimilar to the super soldier next to him. 

Steve nods, forking another piece of steak. 

“In your video, you stated Mr. Stark had attacked you and he is the cause for Mr.Barnes’ missing arm. Can you explain from the beginning what happened?” T’Challa asks, leaning forward. 

Steve swallows slowly before placing down his cutlery. “James was in Tony’s workshop and I had come down to tell him something when I heard James say something about Howard. Tony hates talking about his father and immediately got angry. He put on his Iron Man suit and started shooting at us. He shot at Bucky’s arm and I had to fight him back to get him to calm down. I got Bucky out of there and then I was finally able to get Tony to stop. Then we all packed up and left and came here,” Steve recounted. 

James fidgeted in his chair, keeping his eyes on the fancy table. 

T’Challa was quiet for several moments. The team continued eating, waiting anxiously for a response. “So he attacked you for saying something about his father?” 

Steve nodded. 

“What did you say, Mr. Barnes, about his father?” T’Challa asked, turning to the quiet man. 

James opened his mouth but Steve answered before he could say anything. “Just that he knew him, something super general. But Tony went crazy over it.”

T’Challa nodded slowly, eyes staring holes into each of the table's residents. “Why did he attack you, Mr. Rogers, if he was upset at Mr. Barnes?” 

Steve paused. “Because…because he was mad. He was just going crazy trying to hurt both of us.”

T’Challa frowned deeper at that answer. “Besides your arm Mr. Barnes, were either of you hurt?” 

“Yes, Tony hurt us a lot but we heal quickly because of serum, remember?” Steve answered. 

“Was Mr. Stark hurt as well?” 

“Not too bad. He was yelling at me when I left. He took my shield,” Steve says. 

T’Challa stares before taking a bite of his food. Throughout the conversation T’Challa’s face barely changed from its expressionless look that carried suspicion in his eyes. Steve was happy to see a bit of the suspicion fade by the time he finished his questions. 

“I am sorry to hear that gentleman. As before, you all are offered residence here in Wakanda until this is all cleared up. I am afraid I will have to get in contact with the United Nations to inform them of your whereabouts, but I will do that after dinner,” T’Challa says. 

“Thank you so much, T’Challa,” Steve nods, returning to his food. 

James stays quiet, prompting a look from T’Challa but the King says nothing. 

\--------------------------------------------------

Rhodey curses loudly as he walks down the steps of the UN headquarters. He was rushing to get back to Tony and wanted to tell the others of the meeting. 

“Rhodes. Mr. Rhodes?” He hears. 

Rhodey turns around to see a teen running towards him, almost tripping on his untied shoelaces. The teen wore khakis, and a patterned button up shirt under a slightly too big jacket. The kid’s hair was a mess and he looked rustled as if he had just run all over the city. 

“Who are you?” Rhodey frowned. 

“I’m Peter. Peter Parker. We met at the airport. Well I guess we didn’t  _ meet _ really. It’s hard to meet someone when you’re too busy fighting. But if meeting counts as-”

“Okay, stop,” Rhodey huffed. “Are you that kid with the pop culture references? Something-Spider?” 

Peter sighed. “Yes, I'm Spider-Man,” he whispered. “But that’s not important. Friday told me to-”

“Friday as in Tony’s AI?”

“Yes, that Friday. She has evidence-”

“I know. But the UN said the shield doesn’t matter. There’s no proof that the shield hit Tony unless there was a video...Friday….” Rhodey trails off, eyes widening. “Smart, kid!”

Peter takes off after Rhodey who rushes to his car. 

When they arrive at the compound, the pair jump into the elevator to head to the workshop. 

“Friday said you know how to turn her back on,” Peter said when they reached the dark and quiet lab. 

Rhodey looked at the large table of buttons. “I don’t know how to do that,” he said finally. 

“What!” Peter shouted. “She said you knew how!” 

“At some point I probably did. But it's hard to hang onto all that code and buttons and things Tony spits out. I’ve given up on trying to understand years ago,” Rhodey sighs. 

Peter frowns, thinking. “Friday said she also saved the video footage on a file on the Stark Database.”

“That, I know how to get into,” Rhodey grinned. He immediately started typing in a series of access codes, eventually bringing up a hologram of billions of blue folders. “What was the folder called?”

Peter froze. “I forgot.”

“You forgot?!” Rhodey yells. “You had one job!”

“Actually I had several jobs! Give me a second, I have to think,” Peter says, pacing. 

“Oh yeah, take your time. My paralyzed friend is about to be detained by the United Nations, but oh yeah, take your time!” Rhodey huffs. 

Peter freezes. “Paralyzed? Mr. Stark is paralyzed?” 

Rhodey sighs. “Yes.”

Peter waits for Rhodey to expand, but when he goes back to flipping through folders, Peter looks away and saves the questions for later. “I think it starts with 2S,” Peter says. 

Rhodey types it in and is relieved when the 6,903,456,234 folders goes down to 82,453,268. “Anything else you can remember?”

Peter is quiet for a while. “I think it's 2S0T and something else.”

Rhodey nods, typing it in. 6,703 folders. “If you could just remember two more characters we’ll probably be good.”

Peter sighs, squinting his eyes closed. “Try 2R.”

There are 13 folders. Rhodey uses two hands to grab the hologram and widens his hands while gesturing around him. The 13 folders surround them, waiting to be opened. “You start at this end, and i’ll start down there. Go through each folder and look for the video.”

Peter nods, grabbing a chair and starting on folder 2S0T2R5. 

The two go through several folders, some filled with complicated code even Peter can’t understand, some filled with SI business plans, and some filled with random transcripts of Tony’s scientific mutterings he told Friday to catalogue. Finally, Rhodey calls Peter over, the holographic video casting a glow on his face. 

“2S0T2R0 has three videos in it. One with security footage, one with footage from the Iron Man helmet, and one that was created by Friday,” Rhodey says. 

They pull up the security footage to watch first before following with the helmet video. They finished with Friday’s video, which merged the two videos and also blurred out important things around the workshop- like classified work Tony had laying around the lab and license plate numbers. 

While they were watching, Peter couldn’t help but glance at Rhodes throughout the video, watching his emotionless stare. He thought he saw a tear crawl down the side of the Colonial’s face but it was gone before Peter could comprehend it. 

“This will work,” Rhodey said after the video ended and they lapsed into darkness again. “I’ll send it to the UN now.”

“No, we should post it online,” Peter said. 

“Why?” Rhodey paused. 

“Because, the internet is saying bad things about Mr. Stark. They should see the truth too,” Peter said. 

“I don’t think Tony will like that,” Rhodey sighed and collapsed onto the lab stool. 

“They need to see it Mr. Rhodes. They need to see that Captain America is the bad guy. Maybe once we get the internet on our side, the UN will be too.”

Rhodey thought for a few moments before letting out a long sigh. “Fine, post it.”

Peter’s face lit up. “Where should we post it from? I mean I have a Youtube account but I only have like four subscribers because I only post me playing Among Us but this would be good publicity for my account since i’m trying to-”

“I got it, kid,” Rhodey interrupts. The kid rambled just like Tony and while he was used to it, they were kind of in a rush here. 

Rhodey logged onto the Stark Industries database and posted the account through there since it was untraceable. 

Only seconds later, the video started blowing up with views. 

\-------------------------------------------

Steve, Wanda, and Clint pushed back their chairs, stuffed with food. “Thank you so much for this fantastic meal, T’Challa,” Steve said. 

Scott, James, and Natasha wiped their mouths and placed their cutlery down respectfully. “Yes, thank you,” Natasha said. 

“It is no problem. I can escort you back to-”

“Wait,” James interrupted, clearly fighting with himself. “I need to explain-” 

“King, there is something you need to see,” a woman interrupted. She used her bracelet to open a hologram and she enlarged it to show the room. It was a news cast showing a video of the security footage from Stark Industries. 

The team were silent as they watched the video. Everyone’s eyes were wide as they watched Steve and Tony fight. James wanted to vomit and Steve was ready to bolt. When the news cast finished, everyone turned to Steve. 

“Mr. Rogers?” T’Challa said slowly. “What did I just watch?”

\-------------------------------------------------------

Rhodey walked into the hospital room huffing with Peter on his tail. “Okay, we did it.”

Rhodey paused when he finally realized why everyone was huddled around the bed. 

“Hey sour-patch,” a husky voice smiled.

Rhodey had to fight to keep his knees steady as he stumbled over to his best friend. “Tones,” Rhodey said tearfully. 

“Miss me?”

“Never,” Rhodey smiled.

“Hey Underoos,” Tony rasped. Rhodey turned to see Peter hovering by the door. 

“Hi-Hey Mr. Stark,” Peter’s voice cracked.

“Get over here, Spiderling.”

Peter approached the bed slowly, frightened by all the wires and tubes surrounding Tony’s bed. “Are you going to be okay, Mr. Stark?” Peter said softly. 

Tony sighed, looking Peter in the eye. “I will be fine, Peter.”

Peter held his gaze for a bit before nodding. 

“Happy, can you take Peter home now? I don’t want Aunt Hottie to get angry,” Tony says.

“But-” Peter starts. 

“Nope, it’s late. Go home, we will call you in the morning,” Tony says firmly. 

Peter nods, following Happy out of the room. 

As soon as the door closes, Tony’s face tenses and his eyes closed. 

“How are you really, Tones?” Rhodey asks, sitting on the edge of the bed. 

“I can’t move, Rhodey,” Tony says softly. 

“What?” Rhodey frowns. 

“I can’t move my body!” Tony huffs.

Rhodey looks down at Tony’s body which he now notices is in the same position from when he left. His friend’s arms look pale and they lay limp at his sides. “But Dr. Cho said…”

“Dr. Helen Cho explained that the cradle fixed his spinal fracture but he still has to go through physical therapy to get everything working again,” Vision explained. “As of now, he regains little strength but is not totally ‘paralyzed’.”

“Can you feel anything, Tones?” Rhodey asks. 

Tony opens his eyes. “I can feel my arms and my legs but I can’t feel down to my fingers and toes. My chest is on fire though.”

“Do you remember what happened?” Rhodey asks. 

“Yes, I remember Captain Dickwad rammed his shield into my chest with the intent to kill me, how could I forget?” Tony rolls his eyes. 

“It’ll be okay,” Sam says. 

“No, it will not be. Steve tried to assassinate me and now I can’t move my fucking body, how are things okay?” Tony lashes out. 

Everyone is quiet. 

“Is now a good time to let you know the UN is summoning you?” 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, let me know what you think!! <3


	9. Big Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the wait, its finals time :(

“I can explain,” Steve sweats as T’Challa’s guards draw closer. 

T’Challa, who is experiencing a large variety of emotions, motions the guards to step back. He takes a few calming breaths that have everyone on their toes with anxiety. 

“My father always encouraged me to act rationally,” T’Challa starts. “And while watching that video makes me want to toss you out on your ass, I am sure there are details missing, therefore I will grant you time to explain.”

Steve melts in relief. 

“Direct them to the conference room in an hour, I need to gather my thoughts,” T’Challa mutters to the guards, walking swiftly out the room. 

As he leaves, the guards turn their hard faces towards the Rogues and shove them into the hall towards their room. 

When the door closes, everyone turns to Steve who looks out the window guiltily. 

“Explain,” Natasha grunts. 

Steve turns to face her, but drops his gaze to his feet when he sees her boiling face. “Well…”

“Steve,” She started slowly. “We both learned about how Tony’s parents died when we went to the underground Hydra Lab.”

“Yeah, well Zola didn’t tell us it was Bucky,” Steve said softly. 

Natasha scoffed. “We knew it was Hydra and then we found out the Winter Soldier was their biggest weapon.”

“That doesn’t mean-” Steve starts, curling into himself. 

“Steve, you and I had a  _ long _ conversation about this a year and a half ago and when I told you I was going to tell Tony that we have some suspicion that the Winter Soldier or at least Hydra killed his parents, you said ‘no, I will tell him’. You promised me you would tell him, Steve.”

“Well I-”

“Don’t even lie to me. We all watched that video of James telling Tony. It was obvious Tony didn’t know about any of that. He still thought his parents had died from a car crash,” Natasha said angrily. 

“And then their killer was the one to tell him,” Scott said softly from the back. “I don’t want to be here, I can’t be here. I gotta- I gotta-” Scott backed out of the room. 

“Coward,” Wanda snarled at the door. “I don’t care. Stark deserved it. I have to look at my parents’ murderer every day too, it is time for him to suffer the same.”

Natasha was prepared to yell at Wanda, but her heart skipped slightly at the red that tinged the witch’s fingers. 

“Why would you lie to us, man?” Clint said, from where he stood still in shock. “James killed his  _ parents _ .”

Steve huffed. “He still attacked us!” Steve put his hands in his hair, beyond frustrated. 

“James killed his parents. That’s so fucked up. And you said he shot off James’ arm on purpose. You lied,” Clint recapped, his eyes glazing over as he tried to comprehend the information. 

“He didn’t lie,” Wanda growled. “Steve never lies.”

“Fuck that. I don’t know what to believe anymore. I should have just stayed out of this mess,” Clint yelled. 

“You should have,” Natasha said lowly, giving Clint the side-eye. “And you.” James looks up when he feels everyone’s eyes on him. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

James’ breath catches in his throat. “I didn’t want to hurt him. I swear.”

Before he could add anything else, they hear a quick knock before T’Challa is entering the room. 

“The UN is summoning you,” T’Challa says emotionlessly. 

“We are not leaving-” Steve starts. 

“And I told them you will be there in an hour,” T’Challa finishes, narrowing his eyes. 

All the color drains out of Steve’s face. “But you said we could stay,” he shouts, upset. 

“I no longer wish to be tied in with your drama, Captain. Dr. Stark has been extremely kind to Wakanda and we do not wish to act against him,” T’Challa says. 

“Of course you choose Stark!” Wanda growls. 

“I am choosing what is right.” T’Challa looks upon them meaningfully, letting his words sink in. “The jet is ready, please leave Wakanda.”

Steve storms past the King out the door, Wanda following behind him like an angry puppy. Clint leaves silently, Natasha follows with a nod towards the King. James pauses before leaving. 

“Thank you, for everything,” James says softly. “And I am sorry.”

T’Challa walks closer to the sullen super-soldier. “You are your own man now James Barnes. You must choose your actions and not let others choose them for you. You now must choose between friendship and doing the right thing,” he says wisely. 

James holds his gaze before nodding. T’Challa watches on as the hunched man leaves the building. 

______________________

Rhodey, who was sitting next to Pepper, was on the phone with several different lawyers while the former CEO went through the process of trying to start up Friday. 

Because they were so into their tasks, neither noticed as Tony started gasping for air in his sleep. He woke up seconds later when the lack of air started making his lungs burn. 

He looked over at the pair on the other side of the room but couldn’t call out. He tried to sit up but his body wouldn’t obey- he was as weak as a kitten. 

Tears pricked in the corner of his eyes, half from the burning and half from the patheticness of the whole situation. He was the one who spent time rewiring the annoying oxygen monitor while his friends went to lunch to make it quiet and now he was paying for it. Right as his eyes were starting to close, his wrist spasmed and smacked the television remote onto the floor, creating a large bang. 

Rhodey and Pepper turned to look but jumped up when they saw Tony’s quickly blueing face. 

Rhodey ran to Tony’s bedside, turning on the oxygen tank that was sitting on the side table and shoving the mask over Tony’s face. Pepper ran into the hall to shout for a doctor. 

Rhodey frowned as his friend continued to struggle to breathe. “Tones, deep breaths,” he encouraged loudly. 

Tony wheezed in response, his eyes opened lazily. 

Dr. Cho quickly flew in and it only took a second for her to diagnose Tony before pulling the top part of the bed up. As soon as Tony was upright, he started coughing and taking large breaths. 

Tony’s body heaved as it struggled to take in the large multitude of air. 

“Breathe,” Dr. Cho said softly, looking into Tony’s eyes. She placed her stethoscope over his chest and listened for a few quiet seconds. 

It only took about a minute until Tony was limp against the bed, closing his eyes in exhaustion. 

“What happened?” Pepper asked, hand on her forehead. 

“Sleep apnea, his airway closed when he laid down,” Dr. Cho explained, frowning at the silent oxygen monitor. 

Her and Rhodey put more pillows behind Tony’s back so that he was sitting upright. 

“Are you okay, Tones?” Rhodey asked softly when he saw a tear leak from Tony’s eye. 

Tony shook his head, squeezing his eyes tighter. “I can’t live like this,” he whispered raspily. 

“Tones,” Rhodey sighed. 

“I can’t. He’s taken everything. I don’t want to do this anymore,” Tony cried. 

“The cradle worked, Tony. You won’t be like this forever,” Dr. Cho said softly. 

Tony’s eyes stayed closed as tears leaked silently. “I want to end this,” he whispered. 

“Tony you can’t-” Pepper said. 

“Not this,” Tony sighed. “The team, the Avengers. I can’t do it. I keep trying, but they take everything.”

“Then we will call them out,” Pepper says, stepping forward. 

Tony looks questioningly at her. 

“The UN wants you to come speak, so speak. Show the world what the Rogues did to you and how they treat you. Let them pay for their actions,” Pepper says. 

“I can’t let the world see me like this,” Tony huffs. 

“They need to see, Tony. They need proof that they cannot trust the Rogues,” Rhodey says. 

“We already released the security footage of the fight. We can go through Friday’s logs and pull more videos-” Pepper started.

“I can provide medical records and-” Dr. Cho added.

“You already, WHAT?” Tony asked, eyes wide. 

“We had to show them what Steve did, Tones,” Rhodey said, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Tony sighs, staring out the window as he gathered his thoughts. “When do the UN want to meet?”

“Tonight,” Pepper says. 

“No!” Both Dr. Cho and Tony say at the same time. 

“He is not healed enough to be out and about right now. He just had surgery!” Dr. Cho says. 

“I understand, but the meeting is tonight and we can’t risk the Rogues showing up. We can’t allow them to change the story or get the UN on their side. I would never risk Tony’s health if it wasn’t for a good reason,” Pepper says. 

Dr. Cho thinks about it. “Fine, but there will be rules. He can be there for no more than three hours. Also, I want to come with you.”

“That’s fine!” Pepper smiles. 

Tony frowns, playing with the sheets but nods to the room. 

__________________________

Scott sat in the back of the jet, sharing a corner with James. 

“What do you think they are going to do to us?” Scott whispered, hugging himself. 

“I don’t know,”James mumbled. 

“I mean, I didn’t hurt Stark. Captain America hurt Stark. Do you think Captain America is going to tell them that we helped him hurt Stark?” Scott rambled. 

“I don’t know,” James mumbled, turning away. 

“I have a daughter. And we just got pardoned. What if this time they want to lock me away forever? I can't be locked away! What am I going to tell them?” Scott cried. 

“I don’t know!” James said louder. “I kind of have my own problems to deal with right now.”

“Sorry, man,” Scott says sheepishly. 

James huffs. “It’s fine.”

Scott stares at him for several beats. 

James rolls his eyes. “What?”

“Why didn’t you tell us the truth?” Scott finally asks. 

James sighs, turning away from Scott slightly. “Steve was my best friend.”

“Was?” Scott raises an eyebrow. 

“I thought this was Steve but it isn’t. This isn’t my Stevie. I just want things to be back to normal. I don’t know what I'm doing here,” James sighs. 

Scott stares silently at the man’s grief. 

It was harder to feel any sympathy for someone when you might get sent to prison in a few hours because of them. 

______________________

“Come on, Tones. Just for today,” Rhodey sighed. 

“No,” Tony pouted. 

Dr. Cho, Rhodey, and Sam were trying to get him into the electric wheelchair that sat next to the bed. 

The wheelchair was large and clunky. It was all black with a thick cushion and headrest, even featuring a controller so Tony can drive himself. 

They had been trying to convince him to get in it for 10 minutes now. “It’s humiliating,” Tony whined. 

“Okay Tony.” Rhodey put a hand on his hip and used the other to pinch his eyes. “How can we make it less humiliating?” 

Tony thought for several seconds. “Get me a custom red and gold one,” he smirked. 

“I thought you didn’t want to attract any attention?” Sam asked. 

“Well, this press conference is going to be live broadcasted, does secrecy even matter after all this?” Tony sighed.

“Fine, but we are going to be late. Get in this one and I'll have the red one here tomorrow,” Rhodey said. 

Tony huffed but nodded. 

Rhodey and Sam took that as their que and moved forward. Dr. Cho instructed them how to safely remove Tony from the bed and carry him over to the chair when his legs couldn’t hold him at all. 

Despite the formal conference they were going to, Tony wore a comfortable dress shirt and sweats. The sweats were mainly because he still was using a catheter to pee. 

Dr. Cho attached an IV to his arm, with a splint since he was known to rip them out when he got angry, and put an oxygen cannula under his nose that connected to the tank on the back of the chair. Pepper tucked a blanket on his lap while Sam helped Rhodey put on his shoes. 

Already Tony was shaking and sweating from exhaustion. 

“Are you okay, Tones?” Rhodey said when he noticed Tony’s silence. 

Tony nodded, eyes closing against his quickly-forming headache. “Can I get some water?”

Happy ran over with a bottle in hand. He unscrewed the cap and brought it up to the billionaire’s mouth when said man’s hands were shaking too much. 

“How do you feel?” Dr. Cho asked. 

“Not good,” Tony sighed. “Let’s just go.”

The group frowns, hesitating, but they finally sigh and gather their things. Rhodey shows Tony how to use the joystick by his hand and soon they were on their way. 

________________________

There was a whisper that spread through the assembly hall as Steve and the Rogues walked in. The moderator stood and directed them to the seats on the left side of the stage. 

“We are still waiting on Dr. Stark to arrive, feel free to talk amongst yourselves,” the moderator whispered to the group. 

Steve stopped the man before he walked away. “Is this like, court? Like is there going to be a jury and all that?” 

The moderator frowned. “No, well we hope not. Because you all operate under the United Nations, we prefer to solve our issues within the house. This is mainly because there are different circumstances between crimes of a human and crimes of a super soldier or hero. In addition, we would rather not have the public involved as not to create panic. However, if you dislike the outcome of this conference, you may appeal to a court. All of this was written in the Sokovia Accords,” the moderator explained. 

Steve frowned but released the man’s arm. “Fuck,” he heard Clint say. 

Steve eyed the microphones situated in front of them. “Let’s just stay quiet until Stark gets here.”

About half an hour later, the hall went silent as said man rolled in. The Rogues could not help their looks of shock at the state of the billionaire. 

Tony looked incredibly worn-down. His big electric wheelchair whistled loudly as he wheeled down the aisle of the hall. His hair was greasy, although most of it was shoved under a warm beanie. His face was covered in bruises that were still a dull purple, he had several tubes crossing over his form, including one to help him breathe, and his abdomen was encased in a brace making his posture noticeably stiff. 

“Dr. Stark, welcome,” the moderator said, leading them to the front of the hall and to the seats on the right. Dr. Cho sat in the front row off the stage, along with Happy and Pepper. The man coughed, embarrassed, as Tony waited for him to remove one of the chairs so he could maneuver his wheelchair next to Rhodey. 

“Hello everyone,” the moderator announced after returning to his seat. “First I would like to introduce the United Nations Council Members. We have representatives from five countries: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Our non-permanent members who have been elected by the General Assembly for their two-year term are representing Germany, Italy, and Austria.”

The representatives stood and nodded to the crowd. 

“Now I would like to introduce the Rogues.” Steve’s group frowned at the name. “Steve Rogers, known as Captain America, Natasha Romanoff, known as Black Widow, Clint Barton, known as Hawkeye, Wanda Maximoff, known as Scarlet Witch, Scott Lang, known as Ant Man, and James Barnes. Let it be noted that James Barnes has not yet signed the Sokovia Accords as his status as a hero is still under-discussion.” 

The representatives nodded and wrote down the information. They all turned to the right side of the stage. 

“I would also like to introduce Anthony Stark, known as Iron Man, James Rhodes, known as War Machine or Iron Patriot, Samuel Wilson, known as the Falcon, and Vision. Welcome all,” the moderator said. 

Tony half listened as the moderator told the assembly hall the background of the meeting. His eyes couldn’t help but wander to the other side of the room where the Rogues sat uncomfortably. Several of them were avoiding anyone’s gaze, looking down at their laps or around the hall. But suddenly, his eyes locked with Wanda’s. 

Tony hadn’t had the chance to interact with Wanda since the Rogues moved in, which he was grateful for. He was still scared of the witch, to be honest, and knew she still held him accountable for her parents’ death, probably her brother's as well. 

The witch’s gaze seemed to bore into Tony’s soul and he had physical trouble looking away. He didn’t even notice Rhodey tapping his arm to get his focus as he felt the witch’s power seep into his mind.

Anger. He could feel her anger seize his heart and grasp his brain. She was upset at him but even more upset at him on Steve’s behalf. He could feel the ties of loyalty that went deeper than even Tony’s own loyalty for his ex-friend. And as the red power overtook his thoughts, everything went black. 

Rhodey frowned at Tony’s distracted look as the moderator talked to the hall. He tapped his friend to get his attention, but Tony didn’t budge. He tried whispering, but still his head stayed turned towards the Rogues. Rhodey followed his gaze, leading to Wanda’s bright red eyes. Before he could even react, Tony started seizing violently. 

Screams tore from Tony’s mouth as his body shook and clenched, fighting off an invisible monster. Rhodey rushed to remove the seatbelt and lower Tony to the floor. Sam moved all the hard chairs out the way as Dr. Cho ran onto the stage. Tony’s mouth dripped blood as he bit into his tongue, his screams bouncing throughout the hall. 

The representatives shouted, running to the back of the room and pouring out the doors. Scott followed them. The rogues stood and watched, shock evident on their faces, but made no move to help. Finally, it was Vision who was able to subdue Wanda, causing her to collapse like a puppet, and was caught by Steve. 

Tony’s body stopped its wild movements and went still as he heaved for breath. He trembled in Rhodey’s arms and whimpered loudly. 

“It’s okay, Tones, stay with me,” Rhodey said softly, as tears leaked from Tony’s eyes. 

“I already called an ambulance,” Dr. Cho said, kneeling next to them. She picked up the oxygen cannula that lay discarded on the ground and placed it back onto Tony’s face. 

Tony’s breaths evened out and his eyes rolled to the back of his head as the red magic retreated from his mind. 

Steve, who had stayed in the same position during this whole encounter, had only one thought: they had fucked up big time. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, next chapter is the last one, so stay tuned. Please review!


	10. Find Them

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post-Attack and more problems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Sigh* I'm sorry for ending this story. Please forgive me? (No pun intended.) At the time, I had no more ideas for it and felt like the story was over. But I have been thinking and writing and I have more to add now, so I hope you guys still want to stay along for the ride. Thanks for all the support either way!

Rhodey wakes to a familiar series of screams. 

“Tones, it's just a nightmare, time to wake up,” Rhodey called, rubbing the billionaire’s shoulder.

Tony groaned and trembled. 

“Tones, come on buddy, you gotta wake up,” Rhodey said louder, this time shaking the man. 

Suddenly, Tony's eyes shot open with a gasp. 

Rhodey placed a soft hand on the man’s chest. “Breathe, Tones. Breathe. It was just a nightmare, you’re okay,” the man soothed. 

Tony’s hard breaths started to slow down after several minutes and soon he was blinking with awareness. It was not long after that Rhodey had to shove a bucket under Tony’s chin as the younger man started vomiting. 

Ever since Wanda’s attack, Tony had been plagued with horrible nightmares and constant migraines. They had to keep him in the ICU because they were so severe. There were many times the migraines would attack suddenly, causing his neck to go stiff, his brain to fog, and his vision to blur. They were unsure exactly what Wanda did but were hoping the effects would soon wear off. But three days later, that didn't seem to be the case. 

So much had happened while Team Iron Man was trying to ensure their namesake’s health. 

During the commotion of Wanda’s attack, the Rogues had escaped, running away before they could be captured again. This time, they did not go to Wakanda, and none of the other world leaders had any news of them being seen either. To be honest, Rhodey wondered if they were actually looking. 

Ever since Wanda’s attack, a new fear had washed over the world regarding the Rogues. Everyone knew they were dangerous, but seeing their power being used against someone defenseless, someone already down-for-the-count, instilled a new villainistic view of the Rogues. 

Rhodey knew people were scared to confront them- scared of being granted the same fate as Tony. They were fearful and have every right to be. Heck, Rhodey was scared! He was scared for himself, scared for the broken remains of the team, scared for Tony. Everything was so uncertain. He will constantly live with a tickle on the back of his neck until they find the Rogues and put them away. 

“How is he?” Sam asked, walking into the hospital room. Sam had been a big help these past few days. While Rhodey focused on Tony’s wellbeing, Sam helped with the things Rhodey couldn’t be bothered with doing or remembering- like reminding him to eat, catching up with news reports, communicating with Pepper and the UN. Rhodey was grateful for him. 

Rhodey pulled up Tony’s oxygen mask as the man’s O2 monitor started making a loud noise. “The same,” he answered, mouth tight in a straight line. He helped Tony recline back slightly and placed the sick bin on the bedside table. He vaguely noticed Sam pick it up and bring it to the bathroom. 

“Get some more rest, Tones,” he said softly to the genius who was squinting his eyes in pain.

“I can’t,” he squeaked. Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes and he closed them in shame. 

Rhodey sighed and placed a gentle hand on Tony’s forehead. “I know it hurts, Antonio.” He ran his fingers through Tony’s limp hair and grinned slightly when the action caused Tony’s shoulders to relax slightly. He looked over at Sam when he walked in with the freshly-washed bin. “Do you know when Vision is coming back?”

Sam looked up from where he was drying the basin across the room. “Yeah, he should be back tomorrow morning.” Vision had gone after the Rogues after it was established they had escaped. 

“Any leads?” Rhodey quietly asked.

Sam sighed, looking back down at the towel in his hands. “He hasn’t said.”

Rhodey deflated, but nodded. He turned back to Tony who was starting to doze with Rhodey’s continuous hair massage. He heard Sam fluttering around the room quietly but he continued focusing on Tony’s pain-filled face that was thankfully falling asleep again. “I’ll be right here, Tones,” he whispered. That seemed to help Tony relax the rest of the way because his eyes fell shut and his breathing deepened. 

____________________

James had no idea where they were going. 

Just as he was running over to see if Tony was okay, he was being yanked by Steve, Natasha, and Clint out of the conference hall and outside into a van. Scott looked just as confused as he was but since the man stayed silent, so did he. 

Everyone was telling him to be his own person, make his own decisions, but he couldn’t do that because he didn’t know who he was. Yeah, he knew he wasn’t Bucky, but he didn’t know who James was either. How can you be yourself when you don’t know who yourself is?

Everything is just safer and easier if he follows orders. It's what kept him alive this long. He tells himself he isn’t Winter, but nothing will drive away that desire to listen to authority and follow the rules and commands he is given. It is extremely less complicated and he has no desire to unpack the mix of emotions that constantly swirl through him. Following orders leaves no room to factor in  _ feelings _ . 

So as he stares out of the dark van and out at the endless road and sea of grass, he forces down that unruly part of him that wishes he were with Tony Stark. Because that is  _ not _ the orders he was given. 

______________________

Sam was the only one in the room when Tony started seizing. 

The whole day his migraine seemed to grow worse to a point Tony couldn’t even have his eyes open because of the intense dizziness that would constantly cause him to vomit. Rhodey had been sitting at his bedside all day, holding Tony’s hand as the man groaned for relief but there was not much he was able to do. 

Rhodey had stepped out to grab a nurse when Tony literally started shouting because it felt like someone was slamming his head with a jackhammer over and over. But only a minute after he left, Tony went dead silent and his body started seizing. 

His body jerked and twisted so suddenly, scaring the shit out of Sam. He shouted for Rhodes as he ran over, turning Tony into recovery position as best as he could. Foam spewed out the man’s mouth as he grunted loudly. “It’s okay, Tony,” Sam tried to soothe. 

Luckily, Rhodey and Dr. Cho came running into the room as the machines started beeping loudly and the doctor immediately inserted medicine into Tony’s IV. They all watched with wide eyes as his jerking started to slow and his eyes fell shut. “He’s okay,” Dr. Cho said to a still-panicking Rhodey. “Seizures are known to happen after intense migraines. We’ll keep an eye on him, but with the  Diazepam  he shouldn’t have another one.”

Rhodey nodded but made sure to stay up all night to keep watch on Tony. No one knew what magic Wanda did on his best friend and he prayed this wasn’t a slow death sentence.

Rhodey had never been more relieved in his life when Vision came back that morning. The android had reported that there was no sign of the Rogues, but he was confused to see Tony still in the hospital. “Has the spell not worn off yet?” he asked, head tilted. 

“No, it seems to be hurting him worse, actually,” Rhodye said wearily. 

Vision floated over to where Tony was resting and closed his eyes. The room was silent for several moments as the yellow glow from Vision’s infinity stone grazed over Tony’s head. Finally, Vision stepped back as Tony’s eyes shot open. “He will be okay now, the spell was not a hard one to subdue but-”

“Subdue? You mean destroy?” Rhodey said, eyes hard. 

Vision sighed. “It seems Wanda has unintentionally attached the spell to herself. I cannot disconnect the spell until she is near, but I have managed to dampen its effects-”

“Are you saying, they’re like….connected?” Sam asked. 

Vision considered this for a second. “Well no, but yes.”

Rhodey, who was exhausted and frustrated, rubbed at his face. “Vision, please.”

“I do not mean to cause distress, it is just that magic is complicated to explain to those who are unfamiliar with it.” He thought for a second more. “Do you recall that film we viewed? ‘Harry Potter’ I believe was the name?”

Sam snorted as they all nodded. “Well, it is similar to the boy’s mental connection to the villian. While they will not be able to communicate verbally, it is likely Tony will be able to feel when she is near- at least until they are disconnected,” Vision explained. 

Rhodey groaned. “So now all the more reason to find them.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Thoughts?


	11. The Mechanic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More physical therapy and an emergency trip.

“Three more steps,” Dr. Cho encouraged. 

Tony was standing in front of his hospital bed, with Sam and Rhodey on either side holding the man up. He had padded socks covering his thick leg braces and a back brace around his torso. Unlike his previous physical therapy appointments, he was not able to hold himself up and did not participate in walking at all. Dr. Cho and Sam worked together to move his foot forward while he focused on trying not to pass out. 

Tony whimpered as his back serged in pain and the little energy he put into holding himself up vanished. “Please?” He whimpered. His person was soaked with sweat and his breaths were becoming heavier. 

“Two more, Tones, you can do it,” Rhodey grunted from where he was holding the genius up. 

Tony whined in frustration. He wasn’t doing anything. They were essentially dragging him across the room in his motionless body. It was pathetic, it was embarrassing, it was painful. 

Tony shouted when a spasm shot up his spine. “Stop, please!” Rhodey heard the pain in his friend’s voice and commanded the others to freeze. Tony gritted his teeth and forced back a sob. 

Rhodey frowned, realizing what was happening. “Do you want to sit down, Tony?” He asked softly. 

Tears dripped from Tony’s eyes and he shook his head. He let out another shuddering breath. 

Dr.Cho stood from her chair and looked Tony in the eyes. “What happened? Does something feel wrong?” She held her hands out, afraid to touch him. 

Tony shook his head again, squeezing his eyes. “No, it’s just a spasm.” His voice broke off at the end and his knees threatened to collapse. He knew it would hurt worse if he let his back bend, so he fought to keep it straight until the spasm was over. 

Rhodey looked at Sam and shifted positions so that Rhodey was in front of Tony and Sam was in back of him. Rhodey took Tony’s arms and wrapped them around his own neck while Sam supported Tony’s waist. Rhodey rubbed Tony’s shoulder blades while the genius tucked his head into the side of his neck. “Breathe,” Rhodey encouraged when Tony’s breath hitched. 

Dr. Cho silently pushed pain medicine into Tony’s IV. She knew he was trying to wean off of it, but he deserved some reprieve from the pain. 

They waited until Tony untucked his head and nodded, dried tears on his cheeks. Instead of walking him back, Rhodey picked him up behind the knees and shoulders and carried him back to the bed. Rhodey tried not to focus on how light his best friend was, especially his useless legs. When he sat Tony down on the bed, the man’s legs hung twisted and limp on the edge, so Rhodey pulled them up himself. It was the little things that made him upset on his friend’s behalf. 

Tony panted and sunk into the sheets in exhaustion. He wasn’t even upset when Helen placed the oxygen mask over his face. He simply closed his eyes and let the whispered conversation of his friends lull him to sleep. 

___________________

James loved looking up at the stars. There were so many of them, an endless amount, and despite their inability to talk- they made him feel safe.

“I miss my kid,” Scott said next to him. 

He didn’t have kids, but he figured he’d miss them too if he had any. 

Scott went quiet again, but James could practically hear him thinking. 

“Do you want to be here, James?” Scott asked. His nervousness and hesitation was painfully evident in his whispered question. 

Honestly, James didn’t know how to answer him. Did he want to be here? Here in the middle of nowhere? Here with the Rogues? Here, alive? He didn’t think the answer to any of those questions would satisfy Scott. “Do you want to leave?” He asked instead. 

He could hear the nervous man’s heart beating. “Well...not that I _don’t_ want to be here, i'm just thinking,” Scott stumbled. James didn’t respond, and Scott was quiet for several minutes. 

“I _really_ miss my kid,” Scott said quietly to himself. 

James pretended not to hear him and feigned sleep. 

_______________________

Tony was in the middle of his morning breathing treatment when his phone started ringing. It took some time to find it since he hadn’t used it in several days. He found it on the third ring in the side drawer. 

He quickly answered but his face paled as a voice shouted through the phone. 

“She’s dead. She’s dead. I don’t know what to do, anymore. You have to help me, Mechanic. She’s dead, and they’re coming for me, _he’s_ coming for me,” the person cried. 

Even through the shouting, he recognized a certain word. “Harley?” He whispered, hands shaking. 

“Please Mechanic. I don’t know what to do. There’s no one else. They said they’re going to take the house, I don’t have any money. Please, Mechanic,” Harley cried. 

Tony could practically see the kid’s broken face sobbing into the phone. “Harley, Harley,” Tony called, sitting up. “I’m on my way, but you have to explain to me what’s happening.”  
  


“My mom died,” Harley cried, breath hitching. 

“Just now? What happened?” Tony asked, looking around the room for a jacket. 

“No, she died last week. She had cancer,” Harley said. 

Tony paled. “Last week? Why didn’t you call me sooner, kid?” Tony said softly. 

“Because we were fine. I’m not a kid anymore. I can take care of my sister by myself. But now they’re taking the house. And they will see that we’re here- an-an-and they’ll-” Harley panicked. 

Tony remembered a similar situation all those years ago, their roles reversed. “Deep breaths, Harley. Come on, buddy, calm down,” Tony soothed, listening to Harley trying to breathe. 

“You can’t let them take her, Mechanic. They’ll separate us, I know they will,” Harley whispered brokenly. 

Tony held the phone in a tight grip, wishing he could give Harley a big hug. “I will _not_ let them take you, I promise kid,” he said firmly. 

Hearing the emotion in his voice, Harley’s breath finally calmed. “See you soon, Mechanic,” he said softly. 

“See you Harls,” he responded just as soft. 

As soon as he put down the phone, he started the struggle of pulling his legs to the side of the bed. There was a wheelchair parked next to it, despite his previous inability to use one that wasn’t motorized. 

The small burst of adrenaline the phone call gave him allowed him to make his way to the side, his legs hanging uselessly below him. He looked nervously at the chair but prepared himself to transfer. His back throbbed threateningly, but he placed one hand on the bed and one on the arm of the chair to continue his mission. 

Lifting himself seemed impossible, but he managed to do it after three tries. Unfortunately, a second later his arm strength gave out, and he collapsed rough and awkwardly in the chair. He picked up his limp legs to place them on the footrest and shifted his hips so he was sitting more steadily. He was soaked in sweat and his arms trembled, but he quickly put his hands on the metal rims and started to push. 

It took him five minutes to reach the door at his snail’s pace, but he made it. He almost gave up when he stuck his head out the door to see the long white hallway that suddenly looked the length of a football field. His clammy hands made it even harder to push himself, and his slowing pace made it obvious he would be forced to give up soon, but he kept Harley’s tearful voice in his head and kept going.

He made it about four more feet when Rhodey arrived as visiting hours started. “Tones, what are you doing?!” Rhodey shouted, angry. “You’re not supposed to be up without supervision.”

“Harley’s mother is dead and the bank is taking back the house, the kids have nowhere to go,” Tony explained. 

Rhodey sighed, rubbing his face. “And Harley is that kid from…”

  
“Tennessee,” Tony answered. 

“Tennessee,” Rhodey parotted. The man thought for several moments and Tony could practically see the migraine forming. “I’ll go get them, you stay here,” he finally concluded. 

“No! I need to get them. They don’t know you,” Tony pretested. 

“You are in no condition to pick up kids across the country,” Rhodey scoffed. “You are going to lay here under Dr. Cho’s watch while I go get the kids and bring them here.”

“No! Rhodey, you don’t understand. I need to go. I need to be there. I can do it, please,” He pleaded. 

They stared each other down for several seconds before Rhodey finally gave in. “Fine. Call the jet while I talk to Helen,” he huffed. “I don’t have the address anyway,” he grumbled as he took off down the hall. 

Tony smirked before grabbing his phone from his pocket. 

It wasn’t long before he regretted coming along. 

He and Rhodey were the only ones on the jet, so the ride was pretty quiet aside from the AC/DC music Tony insisted on. 

He was enjoying the view for a long time before he started getting restless. Sitting in the stiff seats of the quinjet hurt his back horribly, and even though he was wearing a seatbelt, it took concentration to keep himself from falling forward as the jet hit turbulence. 

He was too nervous to go to sleep, so he tried to keep himself busy by making calls to get custody of Harley and his sister. Child Services were working to get the paperwork filed and said they would get back to him tomorrow to see if he was approved or not. He was explaining the situation to Sam and Vision just as they landed. 

Harley came running out of the house as soon as the jet hit the ground. He was pulling his sister by the hand, tears falling out of each of their eyes. Harley froze when he saw Rhodey wheeling Tony down the ramp, but it was only a second of hesitation before he continued to run towards Tony and fell to his knees in front of the wheelchair. 

Harley sobbed, laying his head on Tony’s knees and gripping the genius’ jeans tightly. Tony fought the lump in his throat and leaned down, pressing a kiss to the boy’s head and rubbing his fingers through Harley’s hair. 

The boy had gotten older, but grew out of his baby face nicely. His jaw was more defined and his golden hair had turned a shiny brown. Despite the hard and grief-filled look the older boy held in his eyes, Tony could still see a bit of the childish innocence he had seen in the boy so long ago shining through. 

A young girl stood a few feet away from them, hesitantly. Her tears poured from bright blue eyes and her hair was the same shade as younger Harley’s. She stood awkwardly, unsure if she should approach. But when Rhodey suddenly opened his arms, she ran over quickly, jumping into them and sobbing into the man’s neck. 

They spent several minutes comforting the grieving kids. Eventually, Rhodey shifted the girl to his hip and pushed Tony and Harley, who sat on Tony’s lap, onto the jet. Rhodey went into the house to grab the kid’s bags while Tony got them settled. 

It took an hour into the ride until the kids were calmed down enough to talk. Harley had migrated to a chair, still close to Tony, while the young girl still held tightly to Rhodey on his lap. “Why was the house almost empty?” Rhodey asked softly. It had puzzled him when he walked in to see half the furniture gone and the walls bare and figured it would be a safe question to start. 

Harley wiped his nose on his sleeve and picked at his pant seam. “I had to sell some stuff to pay the bills,” he responded. It was then Tony noticed the thin frame of the kids and Harley’s exhausted eyes. “I got two jobs, but it still wasn’t enough.”

“Did you guys have enough to eat?” Tony asked firmly, trying to hold down his anger. He was angry at himself for not checking up on them. He could have prevented this. 

“Harley always feeds me,” The young girl spoke up. 

“Sarah-” Harley interrupted, sighing frustratedly. 

“He always takes care of me.” Tony looked at the girl who stared with love-filled eyes at her brother.

“I’m sure he does. You have a great big brother,” Rhodey smiled. 

“He even protects me from Mark-” 

“Sarah!” Harley shouted roughly. Suddenly, the boy's eyes turned dark and narrowed as his body trembled. 

Tony’s eyes moved quickly between the both of them. “Who’s Mark?” he asked finally. 

“That’s our-” Before Sarah could finish, Harley stood from his chair and placed a hand over her mouth. 

“Stop talking! Do you think he cares about any of this? About us? He gave us a bunch of fancy toys and then left. He doesn’t care about us any more than Mark does. No one does,” Harley snarled. The boy glared one more time before stomping off towards the back of the ship. 

Tony frowned, heart in his throat. “Don’t worry, he gets like this sometimes,” Sarah said quietly, playing with her shirt. “Ever since daddy came back.”

Tony froze, eyes wide. “Your dad came back? When? Why?” 

Sarah did not break her gaze from where she was playing with her shirt. “He came back when he heard mommy was sick. I think he came to take care of us, but he does a bad job.”

Tony glanced at Rhodey, who shrugged. “Well, some daddies are new at their job and aren’t the best,” he told the girl. 

“Yeah. He’s not too mean to me, I just hate when he hits Harley.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	12. Hypotheticals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony gets Harley and Sarah back to the compound, Scott has an interesting idea, and two teenagers meet for the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait. I've been writing a screenplay that had been taking up a lot of my time, but I will be back to updating this more regularly now!

_ Previously:  _

_ “Stop talking! Do you think he cares about any of this? About us? He gave us a bunch of fancy toys and then left. He doesn’t care about us any more than Mark does. No one does,” Harley snarled. The boy glared one more time before stomping off towards the back of the ship.  _

_ Tony frowned, heart in his throat. “Don’t worry, he gets like this sometimes,” Sarah said quietly, playing with her shirt. “Ever since daddy came back.” _

_ Tony froze, eyes wide. “Your dad came back? When? Why?”  _

_ Sarah did not break her gaze from where she was playing with her shirt. “He came back when he heard mommy was sick. I think he came to take care of us, but he does a bad job.” _

_ Tony glanced at Rhodey, who shrugged. “Well, some daddies are new at their job and aren’t the best,” he told the girl.  _

_ “Yeah. He’s not too mean to me, I just hate when he hits Harley.” _

  
_______________

A hand on his shoulder was the only thing that prevented him from turning the jet around and finding that man. Tony looked up at Rhodey’s eyes and forced himself to calm down. “Sarah, who is Mark?” He asked semi-calmly. 

“That’s my daddy. Harley doesn’t like me calling him daddy...it makes him mad,” the small girl said. “Are we going to live with you now?” She asked suddenly. 

“Yes, you are,” Tony said distractedly. “I’m going to find your brother. Stay with Platypus.” Rhodey huffed causing Sarah to laugh loudly in his lap. 

Tony took a deep breath before wheeling himself in the direction Harley went. It was an extremely stressful day and he couldn’t wait to take a long sleep at the end of it. 

He found Harley towards the back of the jet on the couch, flipping through the television channels. “Hey, kid,” Tony started. 

Harley sniffed and turned away from Tony. It was then the genius noticed the fresh tears on his face. “Come on, Harls, talk to me kid,” Tony pleaded. 

When Harley continued to ignore him, Tony sighed, wheeling closer to the couch and locking the wheelchair. He lifted each limp leg off of the footrest one by one and beads of sweat were already forming on his forehead. He gathered all the strength he could muster and lifted his bottom off of the chair and threw himself towards the couch. He landed rough and awkwardly, but he scooted himself as close to Harley as possible. “Listen kid, I understand how-”

Harley suddenly turned, fists clenched and face red. “No you don’t! You don’t understand what this is like!” Harley shouted. “I had to drop out of school just so I could work two jobs and take care of Sarah. I couldn’t even take Sarah to see my mom before she died because I had to sell the car so we wouldn’t starve to death. And I would work my ass off to pay the bills, give Sarah lunch money, pay the neighbor to walk her to school, but as soon as Mark came home he would take any money I made to buy beer and drugs. You will never understand what it’s like, okay? And don’t even bother trying.” Harley stood and Tony grabbed his sleeve. 

“Please, just hear me out,” Tony pleaded. Harley glared at him, but after a few seconds he sat down. 

“You’re right. I’ll never be able to put myself in your shoes, but I do understand what it’s like to be without a father figure and have to survive on your own. I know what it’s like to be hit into submission or punished for things outside of my control. I know what it’s like to come home and see my father drunk and fear for my life. I know what it feels like to be all alone even though you’re surrounded by people.” Tony watched as tears ran down Harley’s face and he grabbed the boy’s hand. 

He scooted closer and caught Harley’s eyes. “Point is- I know how hard it must have been Harley, and I wasn’t there for you. I can’t change that and i’ll spend the rest of my life regretting it, but i’m here now. And I swear from now on, I will always be here for you and Sarah. I will make sure you’re protected, and happy, and loved, because I really do love you kid.” Harley was sobbing by the end of the speech so Tony pulled him into his arms. 

Harley spent the rest of the jet ride held in Tony’s arms as he cried the pain of the last few months away. 

________________________

They were in a dingy motel. But by now, he was used to the creaky furniture and the smell of rotting sheets. He didn’t have any money to contribute, so frankly, beggars can’t be choosers. 

Once again, they put him with Scott- or did Scott volunteer to be his roommate? He wouldn’t be surprised. 

It was night time and he and Scott were across from each other, both in too-small twin beds. Even as he feigned sleep- an act he had been doing way too much lately, he could feel Scott’s eyes on him in the darkness of the room. “James?” He heard the man whisper. 

He didn’t answer.

“James,” Scott whispered again. 

James stayed completely still. 

“James-”

“What Scott?” James burst out. 

Scott then flicked on the lamp in between them. James huffed and blinked at the sudden light. 

“I have a completely hypothetical question-”

“Yes, because I hold all the answers to the universe.” He was too tired for this shit. 

“A question that should probably stay between us so-”

“Just say it Scott,” James huffed. 

“Okay. If one were to...let’s say...turn themselves in, what would happen to them?” Scott asked anxiously. 

James sighed, looking up at the ceiling. “I’m not sure, I'm fairly new to all this, but I assume there’d be a trial.”

“A trial? Like in a courtroom? Like jail?” Scott asked in alarm. “But we didn’t do anything. We didn’t hurt anyone. That was all Steve, I had no hand in it!” 

“So if you were to  _ hypothetically _ give yourself up, i’m sure the consequences wouldn’t be too bad then,” James said. 

Scott was quiet in thought for several minutes. Just as James closed his eyes to actually make an attempt at sleeping, Scott spoke up again. “So why don’t we?” 

James’ eyes opened and narrowed on Scott. “Why don’t we what?”

Scott shrunk back slightly. “Why don’t we...leave?”

James let out a breath he was holding. “Because-” He scrunched his eyes tight. “Because we can’t.”

Scott’s brows furrowed and he threw his legs onto the edge of the bed so that he was facing James. “Why not? Because Captain America said so? I’m tired of following behind him all the time. Look how much trouble he’s dragged us into. I think we should-”

“Stop. Just...stop,” James said firmly. “It’s a bad idea. Now go to bed.” It was a great idea, and James knew it. But he was scared. 

How does he live, function in a world without Steve whispering answers into his ear?

How does he live in a world where  _ no one _ is whispering in his ear?

______________________

Harley’s mood turned around when they arrived at the compound. While Rhodey showed Sarah around the living quarters, Tony brought Harley down to the workshop. Harley ran around, looking at all of the robots and half-finished inventions. “What did you make in the lab I gave you back in Tennessee?” Tony asked as he watched the boy run around in wonder. 

At the question, Harley stopped, his mood immediately going dark again. “Nothing.”

“Nothing?” 

“I sold everything the day after you left,” Harley said.

“Why would you-”

“I didn’t want to sell anything. I had so many ideas, so many inventions I wanted to make. But our insurance didn’t cover my mom’s cancer treatments.”

Tony frowned at the boy, speechless. 

“I did keep the car longer. I would sit in it every chance I got and just closed my eyes. I imagined myself driving it far far away from everything. Driving to you. But then I had to sell it. And I watched some guy take it away and that’s when I realized how trapped I was, that there was nothing that was going to get me out. Not a fancy car, not expensive tech, not even my mom. I have to fend for myself.” 

“ _ Had _ ,” Tony said. Harley looked over at him. “Past tense. You are here now, you are not alone. I will keep telling you that until you believe me.”

Harley looked back at the piece of metal in his hands, avoiding Tony’ eyes. 

“Tony we have a problem-” Rhodey’s voice echoed in the workshop from the intercom. 

Suddenly, another teenager appeared at the bottom of the stairs. He had shaggy brown hair and big brown eyes, and looked at the scene in shock. 

Tony frowned before following Peter’s gaze. He took in Harley holding the metal invention in his hands and everything connected. “Peter-”

“You’ve replaced me?” Peter said sadly. 

“No, Peter, I haven’t-”

“You wouldn’t talk to me for months, and I bet this is why. I’ve been replaced,” Peter said. Tony could see the tension building. 

“No, Peter. You’ve not been replaced. This is-”

“And you just let him in your lab? You never let me down here. Is he smarter than me or something? What school do you go to?” Peter rambled. 

Harley’s lip curled, on edge. “I don’t go to school.”

“A dropout? I’ve been replaced by a high school dropout, Mr.Stark?” Peter shouted hysterically. Tony noticed tears welling in Peter’s eyes. 

“Don’t call me that, loser!” Harley shouted. 

“How am I the loser, you dropout!” Peter shouted back. 

The two boys started stepping toward each other and Tony wheeled himself in between them. 

“You shut up you loser son of a bitch! I’ll beat your face in!” Harley screamed, holding up his fists. An un-Harley-like snarl formed on the boy’s face, and for a split second, Tony was reminded of a particular scientist. 

“Everyone stop!” Tony yelled. The room finally went silent. Both boys were still breathing heavily and Harley’s fists were up. But Peter turned his attention to the billionaire. 

“I know I annoy you sometimes, but I thought we were-” Peter’s voice cracked. In a second, the boy turned around and rushed back up the stairs. 

As soon as he ran up, Rhodey appeared at the bottom. He took in the scene- Harley’s red face and shaking fists- and his eyes widened. “I tried to warn you…”

Tony grabbed his forehead which had started pulsing with a severe headache. 

“Who was that?” Harley asked, breaking the silence. 

Tony rubbed his head. “His name is Peter. I met him not too long after I met you- he was a Stark Industries Intern.”

“Oh.” Harley was quiet in thought for a few moments as his pulse went down. “Well, why did he think I was replacing him.”

Tony sighed heavily. “Look Harley, I have a headache-”

“But why did he think that, Mechanic?”

Tony rolled his eyes, remembering Harley’s inefficiency to notice when he should stop talking from all those years ago. “I haven’t been in contact with him for a while,” Tony said finally. His head felt like someone was punching him with a hammer and he really wanted to go to bed and deal with this all tomorrow. “Rhodey do you mind?”

Rhodey quickly came behind Tony and started pushing the chair towards the elevator. “Come on, Harley. I’ll show you where your room is.”

Harley nodded and followed behind the pair. A man who introduced himself as Sam took Tony’s wheelchair from Rhodey and wheeled him a bit further down the hall. 

Rhodey walked silently with Harley. “What happened to Tony?” Harley finally asked as they reached his bedroom. 

Rhodey sighed heavily. “Too many things.”

Harley frowned at the cryptic answer. He went to ask again but Rhodey held his hand up.

“Tony will explain everything in time, but I want to talk about you Harley.” 

Harley frowned, not liking where this conversation was going. “Can we please just...talk tomorrow? I’m really tired,” Harley said, feigning a yawn. 

Rhodey sighed, nodding. “Good night, then.”

Harley watched Rhodey leave before flopping onto the bed. This was the longest day ever. 

_____________________

Tony grunted in pain as Sam lifted him from the chair. He’d been laying in a hospital bed for what felt like forever so his body was aching from the sudden change of being in a wheelchair. His spine ached horribly and throbbed in tune with his head. “How you doing?” Sam asked, concerned. 

“M’okay,” Tony forced out. 

Sam lowered him onto the bed prompting winces from Tony. “You still okay?” Sam asked. 

Tony stayed silent, trying to will away his headache. Finally he gave a weak thumbs up. 

Sam gently rolled him onto his side and grabbed a bottle from the side table. He lifted Tony’s shirt so that his spine was exposed. Sam squirted a bunch of the medicine into his hands and rubbed them together. He moved behind Tony and started massaging it into Tony’s back. “So what’s wrong with the kid?” 

Tony winced as Sam’s hands went over several sensitive spots that shot pain up and down his spine. “Nothing’s wrong with him,” he panted. “He’s just had a hard life.”

Sam hummed. “We need to get you back to PT, you’ve got so many knots back here,” Sam observed, gently massaging a tense spot. 

Tony grunted in pain and Sam retreated quickly. “Can we just...skip exercises today?” 

Sam looked at him pointedly. “No, Tony.” Tony huffed in response. 

Sam lifted Tony’s shirt a bit higher and drew a gentle finger along the length of his spine. “See how it’s starting to curve a bit?” Tony shivered at the cool finger. “You need to get back to walking and exercising if you want it to heal correctly.” 

Tony held in another wince as Sam rolled him onto his back. Sam wiped his hands on a towel before he grabbed up Tony’s legs and started stretching them. “What am I going to do about Harley?” Tony moaned. 

“Nothing.”

“Nothing? I can’t just do nothing,” Tony scoffed. 

“Well you already talked to him. I think he needs to see for himself that you will be there for him before he finally trusts you,” Sam said.

Tony was quiet in thought. He had so much work to do. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, more Peter and Harley action is coming up! 
> 
> Thoughts on eventual Peter/Harley?


End file.
